Wild  Fowl 


a  id  Waders 


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THE  GIFT  OF 

FLORENCE  V.  V.  DICKEY 

TO  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


THE  DONALD  R.  DICKEY 

LIBRARY 
OF  VERTEBRATE  ZOOLOGY 


OUR  WILD  FOWL 

AND  WADERS 


BY 

DWIGHT  W.  HUNTINGTON 

(Author  of  Our  Feathered  Game;  Our  Big  Game,  and  Editor 
of  The  Amateur  Sportsman.) 


WITH  TWENTY-FOUR  FULL  PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS  AND 
A    MAP   OF   THE   WILD    DUCKS'    BREEDING    GROUNDS 


THE  AMATEUR  SPORTSMAN  CO. 

18-20  Ea.t  42d  Str.«t 
NEW  YORK 


COPYRIGHT,  1910,  BY 
THE  AMATEUR  SPORTSMAN  CO. 


Published,  December,  1910 


CHARLES    F.    BLOOM    PRE88 

130-132   WILLIAM    6T. 

NEW    YORK 


CONTENTS 

I.     INTRODUCTION     .        .        .        .        .        1 
II.     DUCKS,  GEESE  AND  SWANS      .        .        9 

III.  WILD    DUCKS    FOR    SPORT    AND 

PROFIT  .        .        ....        .14 

IV.  HOW  TO  MAKE  A  WILD  DUCK  PRE- 

SERVE SAFE  AND  ATTRACTIVE      23 
V.     WHEN  AND  WHERE  TO  PROCURE 
STOCK   BIRDS   AND    EGGS— ENG- 
LISH    AND     AMERICAN      GAME 
FARMS    . 31 

VI.     NATURAL  FOODS  OF  WILD  DUCKS      40 

VII.     ARTIFICIAL    REARING    OF    WILD 

DUCKS    .  ...      49 

VIII.  YOUNG  DUCKS  ON  REARING  FIELD  59 

IX.  YOUNG  DUCKS  ON  THE  POND  .        .  65 

X.  THE  NATURAL  ENEMIES  OF  GAME  71 

XI.  WINGED  ENEMIES  OF  WILD  FOWL  78 

XII.    THE   GROUND  AND  WATER   ENE- 
MIES OF  WILD  FOWL      ...      88 

XIII.     AMERICAN  DUCK  CLUBS    .        .     .    \      97 

iii 


IV 


CONTENTS 


XIV.     TO  FORM  A  DUCK  CLUB,  OR  SYN- 
DICATE .  .     105 

XV.  THE  RESTORATION  OF  WILD 
FOWL  --  LURING  DUCKS  AND 
GEESE  ...  .  .114 

XVI.     WILD   DUCK   SHOOTING  ON   PRE- 
SERVES .  .     120 

XVII.     DISEASES  OF  WILD  DUCKS      .        .  128 

XVIII.     WILD  GEESE  .  .  .  .  133 

XIX.     THE  SHOREBIRDS  OR  WADERS      .  156 

XX.     REMEDIAL  .  156 

APPENDIX 

(1)  The  Distribution  and  Migration  of 

Wild  Fowl 161 

(2)  A   Proposed    Law   for   Breeders   of 

Game 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

PORTRAIT  OF  AUTHOR Frontispiece 

Facing 
Page 

MALLARDS  IN  AUGUST .       vi 

THE  DUCKS'  PARADISE — MAP :    .  2 

YOUNG  MALLARDS  GOING  TO  FEEDING  GROUNDS      .        .  10 

A  LAKE  FULL  OP  DUCKS 14 

BLUEBILLS  SUNNING  «...        .        .        .        .        .      16 

HATCHED  IN  CONNECTICUT    .        .     •    .        .  .        .      16 

YOUNG  MALLARDS  ON  A  NEW  JERSEY  PRESERVE    ...      24 
WALLACE  EVANS'  GAME  FARM      .  f  .        .        .        .30 

MALLARDS  FLUSHED  ON  REARING  GROUND     ....      50 

INTERIOR  HATCHING  HOUSE    .        .        ...        .        .52 

YOUNG  DUCKS  INCUBATED  BY  ELECTRICITY  IN  NEW  YORK     .      56 

DINNER  TIME         .        .        . 62 

AFTER  DINNER — YOUNG  MALLARDS  RETURNING  TO  LAKE    .      66 

DUCKS  AT  LAKE  WORTH 68 

PIN-TAIL  EGGS       .       .        .-       .       .       ".        .        .        .70 

WILD  DUCKS  IN  CENTRAL  PARK,  NEW  YORK        ...      70 
EGG-STEALING  CROW      .        .       .        ,       .        .        .        .80 

DECOY  OWL    .  .        .        .        .        ...        .82 

GOOD  BAG  OF  CROWS  SHOT  OVER  A  DECOY  OWL     .        .        .86 

A  SCARE-FOX .        .88 

BLUEBILL  SHOT  AND  PHOTOGRAPHED  BY  BONNYCASTLE  DALE      98 
GAMEKEEPER'S  COTTAGE  ON  AN  AMERICAN  PRESERVE    .        .106 

A  MARKET  GUNNER      . 126 

WILD  GEESE  IN  CENTRAL  PARK,  NEW  YORK         .        .        .    134 
WOODCOCK      .        ..'..'.        .        .        .        .       .    146 

ENGLISH  WILD  FOWLER        .  ....    156 

PIN-TAILS  160 


INTRODUCTION 

HIS  is  the  first  book  written  for  American  readers 
on  the  practical  conservation  of  game.  It  deals 
with  the  methods  of  propagation  and  preservation  which 
are  essential  to  make  game  abundant  and  to  keep  it  plen- 
tiful in  places  where  field  sports  are  permitted.  It  is 
entirely  different  in  plan  and  purpose  from  my  earlier 
books. 

All  of  the  American  works  on  field  sports  describe  the 
various  methods  of  pursuit  and  destruction;  although 
they  contain,  usually,  something  about  the  habitat, 
breeding  and  food  habits,  and  migration  of  game,  they 
are  silent  about  the  practical  and  profitable  methods  of 
increasing  its  numbers.  The  same  may  be  said  about 
our  ornithologies  and  books  on  natural  history.  The 
writers  often  deplore  the  fact  that  the  game  birds  are 
vanishing;  they  have  insisted  upon  the  enactment  of 
many  laws  restricting  sport,  but  they  overlook  the  fact 
that  such  laws  prevent  the  increase  of  game  by  breeders. 
There  is  a  disposition  throughout  the  country  to  remedy 
this  mistake,  and  the  game  laws  have  been  amended  in 
some  States  so  as  to  encourage  the  profitable  breeding 
of  game. 

Elliot,  referring  to  the  incessant  persecution  of  the 


2  INTRODUCTION 

birds,  in  his  "Wild  Fowl  of  North  America,"  says:  "Al- 
though it  is  apparent  to  all  save  those  who  will  not  see, 
that  only  a  brief  period  can  elapse,  if  the  same  conditions 
continue,  before,  like  the  buffalo,  our  water  fowl  will 
mostly  disappear,  yet  little  is  done  to  save  them  from 
destruction,  and  the  ruthless  slaughter  goes  gaily  on." 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  laws  restricting  and  even 
prohibiting  sport  are  necessary  in  places  where  no  one 
looks  after  the  game  properly.  Such  laws  have  delayed, 
somewhat,  the  extirpation  of  the  game,  but  the  fact  re- 
mains that  many  species  have  not  increased  in  numbers 
or  even  held  their  own  in  populous  regions  since  the  en- 
actment of  the  restrictive  laws,  and  no  one  can  claim  that 
such  legislation  will  restore  our  indigenous  wild  food 
birds  or  keep  them  abundant  in  our  markets.  One  reason 
is  that  the  laws  cannot  be  properly  executed.  The  area 
to  be  policed  is  too  big.  Mr.  L.  T.  Carleton,  of  Maine, 
one  of  the  best  State  game  officers,  has  well  said  that  the 
entire  State  militia  would  be  inadequate  to  properly  pro- 
tect the  game.  But  even, if  it  were  possible  to  execute 
the  game  laws,  there  are  good  reasons  why  they  would 
not  save  the  wild  fowl.  In  settled  regions  the  nesting 
and  feeding  grounds  of  the  ducks  have  been  destroyed, 
and  in  the  Far  North  the  marshes  are  now  being  drained. 
One  of  the  chief  causes  for  the  decrease  in  the  num- 
bers of  our  wild  ducks  is  undoubtedly  the  draining  of  the 
marshes  and  the  destruction  of  their  breeding  and  feed- 
ing grounds.  Nearly  all  of  the  desirable  ducks  which 
are  shot  in  the  United  States  east  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains are  bred  in  a  comparatively  small  area,  which  may 
be  described  roughly  as  including  parts  of  Wisconsin, 
Minnesota  and  North  Dakota  and  parts  of  the  Canadian 


INTRODUCTION  3 

Provinces,  north  of  North  Dakota,  and  as  far  west  as 
Alberta. 

This  region  has  been  named  "the  ducks'  paradise." 
Millions  of  ducks  are  hatched  in  this  region,  although 
their  numbers  have  decreased  much  and  the  breeding 
area  has  been  much  reduced,  especially  within  the  United 
States. 

Mr.  Wells  W.  Cooke,  of  the  United  States  Biological 
Survey,  an  authority  on  the  migration  of  birds,  says: 
"The  prairie  districts  of  Central  Canada,  comprising 
large  portions  of  Manitoba,  Saskatchewan  and  Alberta, 
are  'the  ducks'  paradise.'  Within  the  United  States  this 
favored  region  extends  to  the  North  Eastern  part  of 
Montana,  the  Northern  half  of  North  Dakota  and  the 
North  Western  corner  of  Minnesota.  The  whole  vast 
region  is  crowded  with  lakes,  ponds,  sloughs  and 
marshes  that  furnish  ideal  nesting  conditions  and  un- 
limited food.  Forty  years  ago  every  available  nook  was 
crowded  with  water  fowl,  and  the  whole  region,  200 
miles  wide  by  400  miles  in  length,  was  a  great  breeding 
colony  and  numbered  its  inhabitants  by  the  hundreds  of 
thousands." 

The  building  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway  across 
the  Southern  boundary  of  "the  ducks'  paradise"  was 
followed  by  the  building  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Rail- 
way through  the  center  of  it,  and,  as  Mr.  Cooke  well  says, 
it  is  evident  that  in  the  United  States  and  Southern  Can- 
ada in  a  few  years  there  will  be  no  great  breeding  colo- 
nies of  the  ducks  most  valued  for  sport  and  for  the  table. 
Edmonton,  Alberta,  a  growing  city  of  over  20,000  in- 
habitants, is  about  in  the  center  of  the  breeding  ground 
for  canvas  backs  and  other  desirable  ducks,  and  other 


4  INTRODUCTION 

cities  and  towns  in  the  paradise  are  increasing  in  popula- 
tion rapidly. 

This  matter  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  all  duck 
shooters  East  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  since  the  ducks 
which  are  shot  throughout  this  portion  of  the  United 
States  must  come,  for  the  most  part,  from  the  breeding 
grounds  above  described.  The  duck  clubs  in  the  Mis- 
sissippi valley  and  about  the  great  lakes  and  on  the  At- 
lantic coast,  from  New  Jersey  to  Florida,  should  be  much 
interested  in  the  preservation  of  "the  ducks'  paradise," 
since  when  this  is  destroyed  the  shooting  on  the  club 
marshes  will  be  sadly  lessened  and  the  splendid  proper- 
ties of  the  clubs  must  decrease  in  value  accordingly. 
How  to  prevent  the  destruction  of  the  breeding  grounds 
is  one  of  the  most  important  problems  for  the  duck 
shooters.  Some  big  parks  or  refuges  for  ducks  should 
be  established  in  this  region,  and  the  inhabitants  should 
be  taught  to  save  some  of  the  breeding  grounds,  which 
they  own,  because  it  will  pay  better  to  do  so  than  to 
drain  them.  It  is  evident  that  laws  prohibiting  the  shoot- 
ing on  certain  days  of  the  week  and  lijniting  the  open 
season  and  the  size  of  the  bag  can  only  delay  the  extir- 
pation of  the  ducks;  they  do  not  govern  the  most  im- 
portant matter — the  preservation  of  the  breeding 
grounds.  This  can  only  be  accomplished  in  the  ways  I 
have  pointed  out.  We  should  remember,  always,  that 
restrictive  laws  of  the  character  just  mentioned  make  it 
not  worth  while  for  the  land  owners  to  save  the  marshes 
and  the  fowl.  No  one  can  be  expected  to  do  anything 
which  does  not  pay. 

The  wild  ducks  which  migrate  up  and  down  the  Pa- 
cific coast  are  hatched,  for  the  most  part,  North  of  the 


INTRODUCTION  5 

United  States  as  far  North  as  Alaska.  Parks,  or  breed- 
ing reservations,  in  the  Western  ducks'  paradise  should 
be  created,  where  the  birds  can  find  safe  nesting  places 
for  all  time  to  come. 

Individuals  and  clubs  should  rear  many  of  the  most 
desirable  ducks  locally,  so  that  they  can  have  excellent 
shooting  before  the  migratory  ducks  arrive  from  the 
North.  The  markets  in  this  way  should  be  kept  full  of 
wild  ducks  during  a  long  open  season  at  prices  surpris- 
ingly small. 

No  game  can  survive  when  its  breeding  places  are  de- 
stroyed, unless  other  breeding  places  are  provided,  no 
matter  how  many  laws  may  be  made  for  its  protection. 
The  time  has  arrived  to  encourage  the  propagation  of 
game  and  to  make  it  worth  while  to  preserve  suitable 
places  for  its  profitable  increase. 

It  was  only  a  few  years  ago  that  the  discovery  was 
made  in  England  that  the  wild  duck  could  be  preserved 
and  made  abundant  for  sport  and  for  profit  by  the  hand- 
rearing  process,  which  was  known  to  work  well  with 
pheasants  and  other  game.  Prior  to  this  important  dis- 
covery every  one  thought  that  the  wild  duck  was  too 
wild  to  be  handled  successfully  and  that  any  attempt  to 
preserve  it  would  result  in  producing  sport  for  others 
and  not  for  those  who  reared  the  ducks.  Some  simple 
experiments,  however,  made  by  gamekeepers  proved  the 
contrary  to  be  true,  and  in  a  very  few  years  after  the 
experiments  were  made  nearly  every  small  water  in  Eng- 
land had  its  wild  ducks.  Scores  of  English  wild  duck 
farmers  now  make  a  good  living  by  selling  their  ducks 
and  eggs.  Many  individuals  and  clubs,  or  syndicates, 
as  they  say  in  England,  also  rear  thousands  of  ducks  for 


6  INTRODUCTION 

sport,  many  of  which  are  sent  to  market,  and  the  English 
wild  fowlers,  or  market  gunners,  are  busy  on  the  public 
waters  for  six  months  in  the  year  with  no  fear  of  extir- 
pating the  game. 

More  than  ten  thousand  ducks  were  reared  in  a  season 
at  Netherby  Hall,  and  the  skilled  gamekeeper  who 
achieved  this  remarkable  success  proved  that  big  bags 
of  ducks  can  be  shot  safely  every  season. 

The  late  Rutherford  Stuyvesant  introduced  the  new 
sport  to  America,  and  he  was  fortunate  in  securing  the 
services  of  George  Edgar,  the  keeper  who  had  made  the 
wild  fowl  abundant  at  Netherby.  Ducks  and  eggs  were 
imported  from  England  and  within  the  year,  after  the 
start  was  made,  several  thousand  mallards  and  other 
fowl  were  reared  about  some  artificial  ponds  on  the 
Stuyvesant  farm  in  New  Jersey.  Those  who  were 
invited  to  shoot  were  enthusiastic  in  praising  the  new 
sport. 

In  addition  to  the  birds  which  were  shot,  the  game- 
keeper produced  many  ducks  and  eggs  which  were  sold 
to  other  duck  rearers  in  New  York  and  New  Jersey  and 
as  far  south  as  Virginia.  Wild  ducks  are  now  reared  on 
many  game  farms  and  afford  splendid  sport  to  many 
guns. 

Upon  the  untimely  death  of  Mr.  Stuyvesant,  Mr.  Edgar 
went  to  another  country  place  in  New  Jersey,  whose 
owner  had  purchased  some  of  his  ducks  and  eggs,  and 
although  the  season  was  late  when  he  started,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  rearing  this  year  several  thousand  mallards, 
besides  a  big  lot  of  pheasants  and  a  few  guinea  hens, 
which,  by  the  way,  fly  nicely  and  soon  may  be  added  to 
our  game  bird  list. 


INTRODUCTION  7 

I  have  made  some  experiments  with  several  species 
of  wild  ducks  by  which  I  ascertained  that  it  is  an  easy 
matter  to  increase  their  numbers  in  places  where  they 
are  properly  looked  after.  Often  I  have  visited  Mr. 
Edgar  and  other  gamekeepers  in  order  to  study  their 
methods  of  breeding  wild  fowl,  and  much  of  the  material 
for  this  book  was  procured  on  American  game  farms  and 
preserves. 

I  am  indebted  also  to  the  writers  of  the  English  books, 
to  whom  I  have  given  credit,  and  to  the  writers  of  nu- 
merous articles  which  have  appeared  from  time  to  time 
in  the  English  magazines  since  the  discovery  was  made 
that  the  wild  fowl  can  be  preserved.  The  breeding  of  wild 
ducks  should  interest  the  farmers  as  well  as  the  sports- 
men, since  many  small  swamps  and  waste  places  can  be 
utilized  for  profit  as  well  as  for  sport.  Many  species  of 
ducks  are  excellent  food,  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
predicting  that  the  best  wild  ducks  soon  will  be  abundant 
and  cheap  in  our  markets.  The  sportsmen  who  are  will- 
ing to  do  something  practical  should  have  excellent 
shooting  during  a  long  open  season,  and  it  is  evident  that 
those  who  do  nothing  will  be  benefitted  when  the  game 
becomes  plentiful,  since  the  game  overflows  from  all 
places  where  it  is  abundant. 

Although  the  shore  birds,  or  waders,  do  not  lend  them- 
selves to  the  gamekeepers'  art  of  hand-rearing,  they  have 
been  found  to  respond  nicely  to  the  protection  given  to 
the  ducks,  and  they  increase  in  numbers  rapidly  when 
safe  nesting  and  feeding  places  are  provided  for  them. 
I  have  observed  the  woodcock,  snipe,  and  other  waders 
breeding  abundantly  on  duck  preserves  where  game- 
keepers are  employed  to  control  the  natural  enemies  of 


8  INTRODUCTION 

game,  and  those  who  undertake  to  preserve  the  wild 
duck  will  do  well  to  provide  suitable  nesting  and  feed- 
ing places  for  these  desirable  food  birds  and  to  extend 
to  them  the  same  practical  protection  from  their  natural 
enemies  which  is  given  to  the  ducks. 


II 

DUCKS,  GEESE  AND  SWANS 

*  I  'HERE  are  sixty-four  species  of  ducks,  geese  and 
•^  swans  in  North  America  north  of  Mexico.  All  of  these 
birds  are  described  and  pictured  in  my  book,  "Our  Fea- 
thered Game."  Twenty-four  species  breed  in  the  United 
States.  Aside  from  the  aesthetic  value  of  the  birds  many 
of  them  are  valuable  as  food  and  are  accordingly  legiti- 
mate objects  of  pursuit.  The  ducks  are  classified  by  the 
ornithologists  as  sea  ducks,  or  divers,  and  fresh  water 
ducks,  or  dabblers.  Many  species  of  the  sea  ducks  are  not 
very  desirable  as  food  on  account  of  the  fishy,  or  sedgy, 
character  of  their  flesh,  but  all  of  the  fresh  water  ducks 
are  palatable  and  nutritious  and  well  worth  preserving. 

Among  the  sea  ducks,  the  famous  canvas  back,  the 
redhead,  the  two  scaups  (black  heads  or  bluebills),  the 
golden-eye,  buffie  head  and  ruddy  duck  are  the  most 
valuable.  The  fresh  water  ducks  are  the  mallard,  dusky 
or  black  duck,  the  blue-winged,  green-winged  and  cin- 
namon teal,  the  shoveller,  widgeon,  sprig-tail,  gadwall, 
and  wood-duck. 

Although  the  sea  ducks  nest  in  some  of  the  Northern 
States  and  much  can  be  done  in  the  way  of  protecting 
them  when  breeding  wild  in  places  where  their  natural 


10  DUCKS,  GEESE  AND  SWANS 

foods  are  abundant,  they  are  not  so  easily  domesticated 
or  handled  on  game  preserves  as  the  fresh  water  ducks 
are.  It  may  be  when  game  keeping  becomes  common 
in  the  United  States  that  the  more  valuable  species  of 
sea  ducks  will  be  hand-reared  as  the  mallards  and  some 
of  the  other  fresh  water  ducks  now  are.  Since  the  can- 
vas backs  and  redheads  command  high  prices  in  the 
markets  and  are  highly  prized  by  sportsmen,  the  game 
farmer  or  game  preserver  who  can  successfully  multiply 
them  will  find  the  industry  profitable,  and  some  inter- 
esting experiments  with  these  birds  could  be  made  in 
Wisconsin,  Minnesota  and  North  Dakota  and  in  other 
States  as  far  west  as  Oregon  and  in  the  Canadian  Prov- 
inces in  localities  where  the  wild  celery  and  wapato  and 
other  natural  foods  of  these  ducks  are  abundant.  Many 
sea  ducks  undoubtedly  can  be  induced  to  nest  in  a  wild 
state  beside  safe  and  attractive  waters,  and  they  should 
increase  in  numbers  rapidly  in  places  where  they  are 
properly  looked  after  and  where  their  natural  enemies 
are  closely  controlled. 

The  mallard  undoubtedly  is  the  best  duck  for  the  game 
preserve  where  hand-rearing  is  carried  on,  and  the  mal- 
lards are  by  far  the  most  abundant  of  all  fowl  on  the 
English  preserves.  The  dusky  duck,  often  called  the 
black  mallard,  has  been  domesticated  in  many  places  in 
America,  and  it  should  be  reared  on  preserves  quite  as 
easily  as  the  mallard  is.  In  England  the  teal,  sprig- 
tail  and  widgeon  have  been  successfully  propagated  by 
gamekeepers,  and  all  of  the  river  ducks  can  be  made 
abundant,  without  doubt,  on  American  preserves  where 
gamekeepers  are  employed.  Since  the  wood-duck  nests 
in  trees,  suitable  nesting  places  should  be  provided  for 


DUCKS,  GEESE  AND  SWANS  11 

them.  They  have  been  domesticated  in  many  places 
and  often  breed  in  parks  and  zoological  gardens,  and 
both  the  ducks  and  their  eggs  can  be  procured  from 
American  game  farmers. 

A  mixed  bag  is  attractive  and  desirable,  and  the  game 
preservers,  no  doubt,  will  successfully  rear  most,  if  not 
all,  of  the  fresh  water  ducks  when  game  preserving  be- 
comes common.  The  English  teal,  which  has  been  suc- 
cessfully bred  on  preserves,  and  some  of  the  other  Eng- 
lish ducks  probably  can  be  introduced  to  advantage  and 
made  abundant  on  American  game  farms  and  preserves. 
Many  English  game  farmers  have  both  the  birds  and 
their  eggs  for  sale  in  large  numbers. 

The  wild  geese  for  the  most  part  breed  in  the  far 
North,  and  it  seems  doubtful  if  many  species  could  be 
handled  on  the  preserves  in  the  United  States.  The 
Canada,  or  common  wild  goose,  has  been  domesticated 
in  many  of  the  States,  and  undoubtedly  it  can  be  reared 
in  large  numbers  on  many  preserves  and  game  farms 
for  sport  and  for  profit.  Mr.  Whealton,  of  Chincoteague 
Island,  Virginia,  is  a  very  successful  breeder  of  Canada 
geese  and  can  supply  birds  and  eggs  in  large  numbers. 

The  swans  are  very  ornamental  birds  and  often  are 
seen  in  parks  and  zoological  gardens,  but  it  seems  doubt- 
ful if  they  ever  will  be  bred  for  sport  on  the  preserves. 

My  own  experiments  with  wild  ducks  were  confined 
to  the  mallards  and  dusky  ducks,  but  I  have  seen  several 
other  species  breeding  on  game  farms  and  preserves  in 
America.  The  methods  of  making  the  breeding  grounds 
safe  and  attractive  and  of  controlling  the  natural  ene- 
mies of  the  wild  ducks,  which  are  described  in  the  fol- 
lowing pages,  are  applicable  to  all  species  of  ducks  which 


12  DUCKS,  GEESE  AND  SWANS 

nest  in  a  wild  state  on  preserves.  The  hand-rearing  or 
artificial  propagation  of  ducks,  which  is  fully  described, 
has  been  found  to  increase  the  numbers  of  the  mallards 
far  more  rapidly  than  they  are  increased  when  the  birds 
nest  in  a  wild  state,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  good  rea- 
son why  many  of  the  other  ducks  should  not  be  success- 
fully hand-reared.  The  game  preserver  can  undertake 
many  interesting  experiments,  and  I  have  no  doubt  it 
will  not  be  long  before  many  species  of  ducks  will  be 
multiplied  by  hand-rearing,  which  consists  in  stealing 
the  eggs  from  the  ducks  as  they  are  laid  and  of  hatching 
them  under  barnyard  hens  or  in  incubators  and  in  feed- 
ing the  young  ducks  until  they  are  eight  or  nine  weeks 
old,  when  they  are  turned  down  on  the  pond  or  lake. 

All  birds  are  comparatively  tame  during  the  nesting 
season.  There  is  a  record  of  a  ptarmigan  being  taken 
from  its  nest  on  a  mountain  top  in  Colorado  and  handled 
without  causing  it  to  desert  the  nest.  Many  birds,  how- 
ever, will  cease  laying  and  desert  their  nests  when  their 
eggs  are  removed,  and  until  the  species  of  ducks  which 
thus  far  have  not  been  hand-reared  can  be  induced  to 
continue  laying  when  their  eggs  are  stolen,  artificial 
rearing,  of  course,  is  impossible,  and  they  can  only  be 
bred  naturally.  As  I  have  suggested,  there  is  an  inter- 
esting field  for  experiment  with  many  species  which  at 
present  are  not  hand-reared  in  captivity  on  preserves. 

It  is  well  known  that  all  game  thrives  best  in  localities 
where  it  breeds  (or  formerly  bred)  naturally  in  a  wild 
state  and  that  birds  which  are  introduced  to  new  regions 
often  do  not  do  well.  A  knowledge  of  the  breeding 
range  of  the  wild  ducks  is  important,  therefore,  and  a 
full  account  of  the  range  of  all  of  the  species  which  are 


DUCKS,  GEESE  AND  SWANS  13 

worth  preserving  for  food  and  for  sport  will  be  found 
in  the  appendix. 

Many  species  which  now  breed  rarely  or  not  at  all  in 
many  States  once  were  abundant  during  the  nesting 
season.  The  breeding  range  extended  much  farther 
South  than  it  does.  Only  a  few  years  ago  I  saw  many 
wild  ducks  breeding  abundantly  in  the  Dakotas,  Mon- 
tana and  elsewhere  in  places  where  they  no  longer 
occur.  They  have  been  driven  away  by  incessant  per- 
secution and  by  the  draining  of  the  marshes,  but  easily 
they  can  be  restored  and  kept  abundant  in  many  places, 
provided,  always,  their  nesting  and  feeding  grounds  be 
made  safe  and  attractive. 


Ill 

WILD  DUCKS  FOR  SPORT  AND  PROFIT 

IT  is  quite  as  easy  to  have  wild  ducks  as  it  is  to  have 
tame  ones.  The  wild  birds  are  far  more  interesting 
than  domesticated  ducks  are,  and  in  many  places  they 
should  be  much  less  expensive  to  rear  since  they  will 
procure  a  good  part  of  their  food  about  the  margins  of 
the  ponds  and  in  the  woods  and  fields.  As  ornaments 
for  country  places,  the  alert  and  handsome  wild  ducks, 
which  spring  into  the  air  from  land  or  water  with  such 
great  rapidity  that  the  fastest  cameras  cannot  picture 
them  without  a  blur  and  which  fly  about  on  swift  wings, 
often  at  great  heights,  delight  the  eye  and  charm  the 
observer,  even  if  he  be  not  interested  in  the  double  bar- 
relled gun.  The  domesticated  duck,  which  cannot  use  its 
wings  and  cannot  run  or  even  walk  gracefully,  in  no  way 
can  be  compared  with  the  trim  and  alert  mallard,  teal, 
widgeon,  the  beautiful  wood-duck,  and  many  other  hand- 
some wild  fowl  which  are  indigenous  to  North  America. 
As  objects  of  sport  wild  ducks  are  highly  regarded  by 
gunners,  and  the  rearing  of  these  splendid  wild  food 
birds  can  be  made  profitable  under  the  rational  laws 
permitting  such  industry  which  recently  have  been  en- 
acted in  some  of  the  States  and  which  soon  will  be  en- 

u 


WILD  DUCKS  FOR  SPORT  AND  PROFIT    15 

acted  everywhere  in  America.  It  is  less  than  a  score  of 
years  since  wild  ducks  first  were  artificially  reared  in 
England,  and  the  older  country  has,  therefore,  only  a 
short  lead,  so  far  as  wild  ducks  are  concerned.  American 
enterprise  can  be  relied  upon  to  overtake  her.  The  ponds 
and  marshes  which  are  suitable  for  wild  fowl  are  far 
more  numerous  and  extensive  and  far  less  expensive  in 
America  than  similar  places  are  in  England ;  the  proper- 
ties used  for  duck  rearing  in  America  can  be  larger  than 
they  are  abroad,  and  a  greater  number  of  wild  ducks  can 
be  reared  in  a  wild  state  by  simply  protecting  the  nesting 
birds  from  their  natural  enemies  and  trespassers  and 
from  stray  dogs  and  cats,  which  are  said  to  do  more 
damage  than  foxes  and  hawks. 

Much  worthless  land,  partly  covered  by  water,  can  be 
made  profitable  by  the  restoration  of  the  wild  fowl,  and 
the  countless  lakes  and  ponds  throughout  the  United 
States  and  British  Provinces,  which  are  now  desolate, 
can  be  adorned  with  this  charming  form  of  wild  life. 
Some  of  the  most  intelligent  State  game  officers  have 
given  this  subject  their  attention,  and  many  individuals 
and  clubs  already  have  begun  the  good  work  of  restora- 
tion and  propagation.  Many  game  farmers  in  England 
produce  thousands  of  wild  ducks  and  eggs  every  season, 
and  a  number  of  game  farms  have  been  started  in 
America,  some  of  which  can  fill  large  orders  for  both 
birds  and  eggs.  Some  of  the  duck  breeders  wrote  last 
season  (1909)  that  they  sold  all  the  ducks  they  produced 
at  satisfactory  prices.  The  mallards  and  some  of  the  more 
common  species  of  ducks  sold  at  $3  and  $4  per  pair,  and 
the  wood-duck  sold  for  $15  per  pair,  and  in  some  places 
these  birds  brought  even  higher  prices.  The  eggs  of  the 


16    WILD  DUCKS  FOR  SPORT  AND  PROFIT 

mallard  and  black  duck  brought  $3  per  dozen,  and  the 
egg's  of  other  species  brought  $6  per  dozen  and  possibly 
more. 

The  number  of  sportsmen  who  are  engaged  in  propa- 
gating wild  fowl  for  sport  has  increased  rapidly  since  the 
discovery  was  made  that  wild  ducks  can  be  controlled 
within  reasonable  bounds. 

My  experiments  with  wild  ducks,  which  will  be  re- 
ferred to  later,  proved  that  it  is  a  very  easy  matter  to 
multiply  these  beautiful  and  interesting  birds  and  that 
they  will  not  desert  provided  they  be  properly  handled. 

The  rapid  decrease  in  the  numbers  of  our  American 
game  birds  long  has  attracted  the  attention  of  sports- 
men and  naturalists.  All  now  realize  that  we  must  create 
before  we  can  safely  destroy  game,  or  at  least  we  must 
control  the  natural  enemies  of  game  and  in  this  way 
make  a  safe  place  for  our  shooting.  Long  ago  I  pointed 
out  the  necessity  for  individual  action  if  we  would  restore 
our  game  and  make  it  again  plentiful  in  our  markets. 
The  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  in  a  recent 
bulletin  on  "Deer  Farming"  referred  to  the  necessity  for 
individual  action,  and  the  people  are  learning  the  reason 
why  the  game  vanishes  and  what  should  be  done  to  make 
it  abundant  and  cheap. 

Herbert  K.  Job,  who  has  made  many  remarkable  photo- 
graphs of  wild  ducks  and  their  nests,  writing  for  The 
Amateur  Sportsman,  said :  "To  one  who  is  fond  of  water 
fowl  it  is  a  real  grievance  and  aggravation  to  scan  with 
longing  eyes  the  waters  of  almost  any  pond  or  lake  in 
our  Eastern  districts,  however  retired  the  locality,  and, 
ordinarily,  see  not  a  solitary  duclc  or  web-footed  bird 
floating  on  the  surface.  If,  indeed,  even  a  solitary  duck 


*«*  • 


BLL'EBILLS    SUNNING 
1'hotograph  by  Bonnycastle  Dale 


HATCHED    IN    CONNECTICUT 
From  Saskatchewan — Photograph  by  H.  K.  Job 


WILD  DUCKS  FOR  SPORT  AND  PROFIT    17 

should  be  so  rash  as  to  exhibit  itself  in  this  fashion,  the 
whole  neighborhood  would  rise  in  arms  to  kill  it  or  chase 
it  away.  What  few  ducks  there  are  hide  in  the  swamps 
and  venture  into  the  ponds  only  at  dusk  and  during  the 
night."* 

Having  described  a  flock  of  ducks,  containing  many 
of  the  best  species,  which  he  observed  near  the  Harvard 
bridge,  between  Boston  and  Cambridge,  and  which  were 
perfectly  at  their  ease,  because  they  knew  they  were  in  a 
safe  place,  Mr.  Job  says:  "There  is  no  earthly  reason, 
especially  in  regions  where  wild  fowl  are  somewhat  nu- 
merous, why  this  sort  of  thing  might  not  become  a 
regular  and  normal  condition,  to  the  manifold  delight  of 
the  land  owner  and  the  public  at  large." 

All  that  is  necessary  to  bring  about  such  desirable  con- 
ditions is  for  the  people  to  learn  how  and  where  they  can 
have  wild  ducks  in  abundance  as  ornaments  or  for  sport 
or  for  profit  and  that  it  will  pay  them  in  more  ways  than 
one  to  look  after  the  fowl  properly. 

The  Rev.  Adrian  Woodruffe-Peacock,  in  a  lecture  on 
"Wild  Duck  Breeding  for  Sport,"  published  in  The  Shoot- 
ing Times  and  British  Sportsman  (Dec.  8,  1906),  says: 

"It  is  not  of  day  dreams  in  the  crowded  city  or  railway 
carriage  that  I  am  now  going  to  speak,  but  of  simple,  and 
at  the  same  time  practical,  facts,  which  any  land  owner  or 
businesslike  keeper  who  has  at  command  a  lake,  pond  or 
slow  flowing  stream  can  turn  to  profit  in  increasing  the 
sport  which  the  acres  in  his  possession  will  supply.  Wild 
duck  breeding  and  training  for  shooting  purposes  are 
quite  simple  matters — there  are  no  mysteries  in  the  un- 
dertaking. It  is,  indeed,  so  easy  that  the  wonder  is  that 

•The  Amateur  Sportsman,  March,  1900. 


18    WILD  DUCKS  FOR  SPORT  AND  PROFIT 

it  has  not  extended  long  ago  far  and  wide  over  every 
sporting  estate  in  the  kingdom.  There  are  many  spots 
which  by  nature  are  only  indifferent  situations  for  pheas- 
ant and  partridge  cultivation,  that  are  yet  admirably 
suited  for  the  production  of  'high  flying  wild  fowl.' 

"As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  have  never  been  resident  in  a 
country  village  where  there  was  a  fair  supply  of  water — 
even  when  only  a  small  beck,  or  brook — without  finding 
the  wild  duck  breeding.  In  my  earliest  days,  too,  when 
from  association  my  attention  was  especially  drawn  to 
them  in  the  Trent  Valley,  I  do  not  remember  a  farm  yard 
collection  of  ducks  which  was  not  visited  by  'wild  flying' 
drakes  from  the  decoy.*  The  domestic  and  wild  forms 
were  so  frequently  crossed  in  the  neighborhood  of  my 
home  that  'tame  fliers' — namely,  halfbred  wild  ducks, 
which  fly  away  with  their  cousins — were  a  frequent 
source  of  annoyance  and  loss  at  Ashby  Decoy.  It  is  with 
some  confidence,  then,  that  I  can  speak  of  the  wild  duck 


•A  decoy  Is  simply  a  piece  of  water  of  a  certain  size,  from  which  radi- 
ate shallow,  curving  channels  spanned  by  crescent  shaped  supports. 
The  supports  sustain  net,  forming  a  tunnel,  known  as  a  pipe.  The  num- 
ber of  pipes  may  be  from  one  to  a  dozen  or  so,  according  to  the  size  of 
the  water.  The  Wrentham  decoy,  In  Norfolk,  has  ten  pipes,  a  larger 
number  than  that  possessed  by  any  other  active  decoy  In  the  Eastern 
Counties,  if  not  in  our  islands.  Iron  supports,  their  ends  firmly  em- 
bedded in  the  soil  on  either  side  of  the  channel,  are  used  at  the  month 
of  the  pipe  and  for  some  distance  down,  and  saplings  as  the  channel 
narrows.  The  supports  are  placed  at  intervals  of  about  five  feet.  These 
arches  are  usually  about  twelve  feet  high  and  twenty  feet  wide  at  the 
mouth  of  the  pipe.  They  become  smaller  and  smaller,  till  at  the  end  of 
the  pipe  they  are  found  to  be  only  two  feet  high;  thus  when  the  whole 
structure  is  covered  with  net  we  have  a  gradually  narrowing  and  carv- 
ing pipe,  the  course  of  which  cannot  be  seen  by  the  duck  till  their  re- 
treat In  cut  off.  At  the  end  of  the  pipe  is  a  detachable  bag  shaped  net, 
known  as  a  tunnel  net.  The  length  of  a  pipe  is  usually  about  seventy 
yards.  On  the  bank  of  the  decoy,  and  for  some  way  down  the  convex 
side  of  the  pipe,  are  screens,  six  feet  high,  and  covered  with  rashes,  so 
arranged  In  echelon  that  the  decoyman  can  pursue  hii  tactics  without 
being  seen  by  the  birds  on  the  water,  and  yet  can  show  himself,  or 


WILD  DUCKS  FOR  SPORT  AND  PROFIT    19 

and  record  a  forty  years'  remembrance  of  its  ways  and 
doings.  ;*;.  .  ..^lijfl 

"Provided  you  have  water,  and  trees  for  shelter,  and 
the  fowl  are  undisturbed  by  shooting  or  constant  flush- 
ing, there  is  no  place  so  noisy,  or  so  frequented  by  man, 
in  which  the  true  wild  duck  will  not  breed.  In  the  lake  of 
the  city  park,  in  the  ballast  pit  by  the  ever  roaring  rail- 
way junction,  close  by  the  reverberating  boiler  works, 
where  riveting  hammers — or  Nasmyth's  ponderous  ma- 
chinery— are  at  work,  where  human  scent  is  wafted  to 
them  at  every  breeze,  wild  fowl  nest  and  rear  their  young 
in  peace.  It  is  not  the  presence  of  humanity  that  wild 
fowl  object  to — it  is  to  constant,  inquisitive  interference, 
or  shooting.  Any  place  near  water  is  good  enough  for 
them  where  they  are  left  alone  for  feeding  and  breeding. 
Decoy  men  are  quite  right  in  keeping  their  waters  as  se- 
cluded and  quiet  as  possible,  for  the  best  of  reasons. 
Their  native  birds  gather  'foreigners'  into  their  pond 
every  night,  and  the  slightest  unusual  sound  or  human 

allow  his  dog  to  show  itself,  at  any  point.  The  tall  screens  are  usually 
connected  by  low  ones,  over  which  the  dog,  commonly  known  as  a 
"piper,"  Is  able  to  jump  without  difficulty.  .  .  .  Ducks  are  enticed  into 
the  pipes  either  by  means  of  decoy  birds  or  by  the  antics  of  a  dog,  care- 
fully trained  for  the  work.  ...  At  last  all  the  lagging  fowl  of  the 
gathering  have  entered  the  pipe.  Then,  without  a  sound,  the  decoy- 
man  darts  back  to  the  mouth  of  the  pipe,  where,  unseen  by  other  bunches 
of  duck  on  the  decoy,  he  suddenly  shows  himself  to  the  birds  under  the 
net.  At  the  sight  of  him  and  his  waving  handkerchief  the  trapped  birds 
rise  in  a  cloud  and  fly  up  the  narrowing  pipe.  The  decoyman,  on  the  bank, 
follows  them  at  headlong  speed.  A  few  moments  later  he  is  engaged  in 
extracting  his  victims,  one  by  one.  from  the  tunnel  net  and  wringing 
their  necks.— "Wild  Fowl.";  L.  H.  De  Visme  Shaw,  p.  116. 

A  large  number  of  these  decoys  are  operated  In  England,  Wales  and 
Ireland,  and  many  wild  ducks  are  procured  for  the  market.  The  first 
decoy  was  set  up  in  the  reign  of  James  II.  "The  Land  of  the  Broads," 
cited  by  Shaw.  Decoying  was  practiced  in  Holland  prior  to  the  time  of 
Sir  William  Wodehouse,  who  constructed  the  first  English  decoy.  15,000 
fowl  have  been  taken  In  a  decoy  In  a  season. — De  Visme  Shaw.  "Wild 
Fowl,"  p.  121. 


20    WILD  DUCKS  FOR  SPORT  AND  PROFIT 

aroma  sends  these  strangers  to  human  presence  winging 
their  way  to  discover  more  secure  abodes.  Breeding  for 
the  gun  is  altogether  another  matter;  the  producer  relies 
on  his  own  stock  of  birds,  and  not  on  the  nightly  supply 
of  truly  wild  ones,  which  are  the  decoyman's  daily  profit. 

"The  ideal  spot  for  wild  duck  breeding  is,  no  doubt,  a 
hilly  country  more  or  less  covered  with  woods,  and  in 
them  lakes,  or  lakelets,  supplied  by  perennial  burns  to 
keep  the  water  fresh  and  to  bring  down  a  supply  of  food, 
such  as  the  Ferintosh  part  of  the  Culladen  estate,  near 
Dingwall,  in  Ross-shire.  With  lakes  half  a  mile  apart  in 
a  circle  amid  the  hills  the  finest  sport  imaginable  can  be 
obtained.  The  fowl  can  be  driven,  or  trained  to  fly,  from 
lake  to  lake,  and  give  the  best  sporting  shots  to  hidden 
guns  lying  in  wait.  The  owner  of  one  lake  or  large  pond 
need  not  despair;  he  can  have  his  shoot,  too,  in  its  way 
as  good,  and  even  more  certain  than  that  of  his  luckier 
neighbor  with  many  waters.  When  birds  are  merely 
driven  from  lake  to  lake  over  guns,  the  sport  is  more  like 
flight  shooting,  as  followed  by  the  sea  coast,  and,  in  con- 
sequence, has  also  much  of  its  uncertainties.  At  its  very 
best  it  can  hardly  be  better  when  the  mere  quality  of  the 
shooting  obtained  is  considered,  without  regard  to  the 
circumstances  of  its  production,  than  when  the  ducks  are 
sent  in  threes  and  fours,  as  they  are  let  out  of  a  cage  on  a 
hillside  over  the  guns,  to  a  lake  or  pond  beyond  them. 
Failing  a  hillside,  a  line  of  trees,  or  nets  supported  on 
wires  by  poles,  are  nearly  as  good  in  giving  high  flight 
and  speed. 

"The  mallard*  most  frequently,  in  a  perfectly  wild 


t 

•Decoymen  make  a  useful  distinction  in  classing  their  take  of  fowl. 
The  male  bird,  or  drake,  is  "the  mallard,"  the  female  always  "the  duck." 


WILD  DUCKS  FOR  SPORT  AND  PROFIT    21 

state,  is  a  slightly  polygamous  bird.  In  pinioned  confine- 
ment it  is  absolutely  polygamous,  and  one  drake  will 
mate  with  four  ducks,  or  even  five,  when  in  full  fertility. 
Wild  fowl  live  to  a  great  age.  In  1876  old  Tom  Tacey 
showed  me  a  duck  in  full  male  plumage — namely,  with 
green-purple  head  and  curled  tail  feathers — which  he  had 
bred  thirty-five  seasons  before.  As  he  said,  she  was  sur- 
rounded by  descendants  to  the  twenty-eighth  generation, 
but  had  given  up  all  interest  in  breeding  matters  long 
before.  'I  only  keep  her  'cos  she's  the  best  'coy  duck  I 
have,  and  her  young  are  the  best  breed  I  have.'  So  much 
for  pedigree. 

"Eighteen  to  twenty  years  is  not  an  uncommon  age  for 
old  decoy  fowl,  but  we  are  not  speaking  tonight  of  de- 
coying. 

"Breeders  for  shooting  should  be  careful  to  use  only 
young  and  specially  fertile  stock,  selected  annually  for 
flying  qualities.  Additions  to  the  future  breeding  stock 
should  have  been  carefully  chosen  and  pinioned  before 
the  first  battue. 

"When  undisturbed,  the  wild  duck  naturally  begins  sit- 
ting on  her  eggs  about  the  beginning  of  April ;  but  nests 
with  eggs,  or  little  ducklings,  may  be  found  every  month 
of  the  year.  This,  however,  is  only  the  case  where  the 
birds  are  robbed  again  and  again  of  their  complement  of 
eggs,  just  when  incubation  is  on  the  point  of  commenc- 
ing. It  is  most  rare  for  the  wild  duck,  in  a  purely  natural 
state,  to  be  truly  double  brooded,  but  I  have  even  known 
cases  of  this.  Food  must  abound,  and  the  nesting  fowl 
must  have  perfect  security  from  the  disturbance  of  their 
own  species,  as  well  as  from  their  natural  enemies.  Al- 
most any  situation  is  good  enough  for  a  wild  duck's  nest, 


22    WILD  DUCKS  FOR  SPORT  AND  PROFIT 

from  a  hedge  bottom,  bushy  bankside,  a  bed  of  nettles  in 
the  open  fields,  to  a  deserted  crow's  or  rook's  nest  in  the 
tree  tops.  Where  the  birds  are  much  harried  by  nest 
seekers,  or  foxes,  they  find  security  on  high  stacks,  pol- 
lard willows,  or,  failing  these,  in  the  loftiest  nests  of  tree 
building  birds.  The  problem  is  to  say  where  the  duck 
will  not  nest  when  it  suits  her  purpose;  abroad  they 
sometimes  occupy  the  nesting  boxes  provided  for  the 
golden-eyed  duck  (Clangula  glaucion,  Linn.)  Height  is 
no  hindrance  to  a  good  mother  duck ;  as  soon  as  her  nest- 
lings are  fit  for  locomotion  she  carries  them  to  a  selected 
spot  in  her  bill.  I  saw  one  doing  this  as  late  as  Aug.  20, 
1902.  Where  foxes  and  vermin  are  over  abundant  the 
duck  is  knowing  enough  to  forsake  continuous  cover  or 
hedges  for  an  isolated  bed  of  thistles  or  nettles  in  the 
open.  In  bitter  weather,  hollow  trees  are  not  forgotten, 
if  the  opening  faces  south ;  and,  failing  all  other  suitable 
spots  and  old  nests,  a  small  depression  in  the  open  field 
is  taken  advantage  of." 


IV 

HOW    TO    MAKE    A    WILD    DUCK    PRESERVE 
SAFE  AND  ATTRACTIVE 

ALTHOUGH  many  wild  ducks  can  be  reared  in  a 
farmyard  where  there  is  no  pond,  lake  or  stream, 
provided  they  have  access  to  a  water  trough  or  pan  of 
water  at  all  times,  it  is  evident  that  they  will  do  better 
provided  they  be  reared  under  more  natural  surround- 
ings near  a  good  sized  lake,  pond,  stream  or  slough. 
The  place  selected  for  a  preserve  should,  if  possible, 
have  several  waters  at  some  distance  from  each  other, 
either  a  number  of  ponds  or  a  pond  and  a  small  stream 
or  slough,  since  the  shooting  will  be  best  where  the 
ducks  can  fly  about  from  one  water  to  another. 

In  England  there  are  some  small  shoots  where  there 
is  very  little  water,  but  the  shooting  under  such  condi- 
tions is  often  too  artificial  to  suit  our  American  taste. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  large  numbers  of  duck 
can  be  reared  and  that  they  will  thrive  about  very  small 
bodies  of  water,  mere  puddles  in  fact,  and  on  one  of  the 
largest  preserves  in  England,  where  thousands  of  ducks 
are  shot  annually,  the  little  ponds  are  artificial. 

Captain  Oates,  who  owns  a  small  preserve  in  England, 
says  wild  fowl  can  undoubtedly  be  reared  far  from  any 

23 


24      SAFE  AND  ATTRACTIVE  PRESERVES 

large  piece  of  water,  but  I  am  strongly  of  the  opinion 
that  birds  do  better  on  a  good  sized  stretch  of  water 
with  a  stream  running  into  it  and  out  of  it.  Given  these 
advantages,  the  running  water  must  be  constantly 
bringing  a  fresh  supply  of  food,  especially  after  a  fall  of 
rain  sufficiently  heavy  to  cause  a  rise  of  water;  further, 
if  the  stream  which  runs  out  of  our  lake  empties  itself 
into  a  large  river  the  latter  will,  when  it  floods  or  rises, 
rapidly  cause  our  stream  to  back  up  and  bring  in  a 
further  supply  of  food  from  the  main  river.  The  supply 
of  fresh  food  is  a  gratifying  source  of  economy  to  the 
grain  bill. 

Mr.  L.  H.  De  Visme  Shaw,  in  a  book  on  "Wild  Fowl," 
says :  "The  pieces  of  water  one  proposes  to  convert  into 
duck  ponds  should  be  as  near  the  middle  of  the  shoot 
as  possible;  the  distance  separating  them  from  each 
other  should  preferably  be  not  less  than  half  a  mile. 
The  larger  they  are  the  better.  Their  situation  must  be 
so  far  isolated  that  there  is  no  risk  of  the  birds  being 
disturbed. 

"There  may  be  a  stream  running  through  the  shoot, 
or  there  may  be  ponds  or  springs  suitably  situated.  In 
the  former  case  dams  can  be  built  to  hold  up  a  body  of 
water  sufficient  to  last  through  any  spell  of  drought 
during  which  the  stream  may  run  dry.  The  possibility 
of  water  giving  out  during  a  dry  season  must  always  be 
one  of  the  first  considerations,  this  possibility  being 
obviated  by  efficient  puddling." 

I  have  seen  several  thousand  ducks  which  were 
successfully  reared  about  some  very  small  artificial 
ponds  on  an  American  preserve,  and  I  have  also  seen  a 
good  lot  of  ducks  which  were  reared  on  a  quail  preserve, 


SAFE  AND  ATTRACTIVE  PRESERVES      25 

where  a  small  pond  was  made  for  them  by  building  a 
very  inexpensive  dam  across  a  little  stream.  The  big 
quail  preserves  in  North  Carolina  easily  could  produce 
a  large  number  of  fowl  about  ponds  made  by  damming 
the  small  streams. 

There  are  hundreds  of  thousands  of  likely  ponds, 
sloughs  and  marshy  streams  in  America  where  wild 
ducks  formerly  nested,  but  which  have  been  shot  out. 
The  swamps,  ponds  and  sloughs  are  absolutely  worth- 
less for  agricultural  purposes  until  they  are  drained, 
with  the  exception  of  those  where  cranberries  are 
grown,  and  there  is  room  enough  in  America  for  every 
gun  to  have  desirable  duck  shooting  during  a  long  open 
season  at  a  very  small  expense,  provided  the  ducks  be 
properly  looked  after  and  not  driven  away  as  they  are 
now  whenever  they  attempt  to  nest. 

Although  the  ducks  can  be  introduced  easily  and 
made  abundant  in  many  localities  where  they  never  were 
known  to  occur,  it  is  evident  that  the  best  place  to 
start  a  duck  ranch  or  preserve  is  on  or  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  ground  over  which  the  wild  fowl  travel  during 
their  migrations,  since  many  birds  will  be  attracted  by 
those  on  the  ground  and  will  remain  to  interbreed  with 
them,  provided  the  place  be  made  safe  and  attractive. 
The  best  place  of  all  is,  of  course,  a  place  where  wild 
fowl  are  now  nesting  in  good  numbers,  and  there  are 
hundreds  of  square  miles  in  the  region  known  as  the 
"ducks'  paradise,"  in  Canada,  where  ducks  breed  every 
season.  One-tenth  of  this  area,  if  properly  preserved, 
would  feed  the  people  of  the  North  American  continent 
with  all  the  ducks  they  could  possibly  eat,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  the  duck  shooting  throughout  the  country 


26      SAFE  AND  ATTRACTIVE  PRESERVES 

as  far  South  as  Florida  would  be  made  better  than  it 
ever  was,  and  it  would  remain  so  for  all  time  to  come. 
As  it  is,  the  breeding  grounds  are  being  drained  rapidly, 
since  it  does  not  pay  to  keep  them  for  ducks. 

Ponds  which  are  shallow  and  which  contain  much 
food  in  the  water  and  about  the  shores  are  more  suitable 
for  rearing  places  for  ducks  than  ponds  with  rocky  or 
gravelly  shores.  But  even  the  last  named  ponds  can  be 
made  to  support  a  good  head  of  ducks,  provided  the 
birds  be  well  fed  with  grain. 

I  have  had  inquiries  recently  from  people  in  New 
England  who  contemplated  rearing  ducks  as  to  the  at- 
titude of  the  wild  ducks  towards  trout  and  other  desir- 
able game  fishes.  Since  the  ponds  where  it  was  pro- 
posed to  introduce  the  ducks  are  fully  stocked  with 
trout,  their  owners  did  not  wish  to  add  the  ducks  if 
these  would  put  an  end  to  their  trout  fishing.  They  were 
anglers,  and  the  duck  shooting  was  only  a  secondary 
pleasure. 

My  knowledge  of  the  food  habits  of  the  more  desir- 
able river  ducks,  which  are  best  suited  to  the  preserve, 
led  me  to  believe  that  the  ducks  would  not  interfere 
with  or  destroy  the  fishes,  especially  if  the  birds  could 
secure  the  food  they  liked  best,  or  if  they  were  fed,  as 
they  should  be,  sufficiently  to  keep  them  at  home.  Not 
having  any  positive  information  on  the  subject,  how- 
ever,' I  referred  this  important  matter  to  the  United 
States  Commissioner  of  Fisheries,  who  wrote  as  fol- 
lows in  reply  to  my  communication : 

"Replying  to  your  letter  of  April  26,  addressed  to  the  As- 
sistant in  Charge,  Division  of  Fish  Culture,  it  is  not  believed 
that  the  number  of  trout  and  other  game  fish  consumed  by 


SAFE  AND  ATTRACTIVE  PRESERVES       27 

wild  ducks  amounts  to  much,  but  it  is  not  possible  to  say  what 
damage  large  flocks  of  ducks  on  a  preserve,  of  the  kind  you 
advocate,  might  do  if  the  ponds  on  the  preserve  contained  an 
abundance  of  game  fish. 

"The  ducks  valued  as  game  (mallard,  redhead,  ruddy,  scaups 
or  bluebills,  canvas  back,  teal,  etc.),  feed  almost  entirely  on 
vegetation,  along  with  occasional  snails,  worms,  etc.,  and  on 
organisms  found  in  mud,  and  would  not  feed  on  fishes  to  any 
extent,  even  when  other  feed  was  scarce,  as  they  are  not  adapted 
to  that  sort  of  food.  The  'sawbills,'  or  fish  ducks,  feed  on  fishes, 
and  so  does  the  hell-diver  (grebe  or  dabchick),  which,  however, 
is  not  a  duck  at  all.  The  grebes  are  not  numerous  enough  to 
do  much  harm. 

"As  to  fishes  eating  ducks,  the  pike  would  commit  consider- 
able devastation  where  ducklings  were  available,  so  would 
snapping  turtles,  their  worst  enemies."* 

It  is  highly  important  that  the  place  where  wild  ducks 
are  to  be  reared,  either  by  hand  or  in  a  wild  state,  pref- 
erably in  both  ways,  should  be  safe  and  attractive. 

A  place  may  be  said  to  be  safe  when  no  intruders  are 
permitted  to  approach  it,  either  men  or  the  natural  and 
domestic  enemies  of  game,  which  are  discussed  in  an- 
other chapter. 

It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  wild  ducks  are  exceedingly 
fond  of  certain  kinds  of  food,  especially  wild  rice,  wild 
celery,  wapato,  a  bulb-like  root,  fox-tail  grass,  and  vari- 
ous duck  weeds  and  aquatic  plants.  As  stated  in  the 
letter  of  the  United  States  Fish  Commissioner,  quoted 
above,  the  ducks  also  feed  on  organisms  found  in  mud, 
and  for  this  reason  muddy  ponds  are  attractive,  as  all 
sportsmen  know. 

It  is  not  so  generally  known,  but  nevertheless  an  im- 
portant fact,  that  wild  ducks  need  cover,  almost  if  not 
quite  as  much  as  quail,  grouse  and  other  true  game  birds 

*The  Amateur  Sportsman. 


28       SAFE  AND  ATTRACTIVE  PRESERVES 

do.  Sportsmen  who  have  considered  this  matter  are 
aware  that  wild  ducks  are  not  so  often  seen  on  open 
ponds  and  waters,  where  there  are  no  reeds,  rushes  or 
bushes  about  the  banks,  as  they  are  about  waters  where 
suitable  cover,  in  which  they  can  hide,  abounds.  It  is 
true  that  there  is  more  food,  including  insect  food,  to 
be  found  about  ponds  and  streams  fringed  with  wild 
rice  and  other  grasses  and  bushes  and  trees  which  fur- 
nish acorns  and  other  foods  and  that  food  is  the  most 
important  matter  which  causes  the  wild  fowl  to  visit 
and  remain  in  any  given  place,  but  it  also  is  true  that 
the  ducks  are  not  well  satisfied  with  a  place  which  has 
no  covers  in  which  they  can  hide,  even  if  the  food  be 
abundant.  The  wild  duck  when  pursued  by  a  winged 
enemy  will  fly  into  the  protecting  reeds  and  rice  just  as 
quail  seek  the  briars  when  they  are  pursued  by  their 
enemies. 

Since  there  is  abundant  cover  and  much  natural  food 
about  hundreds  of  thousands  of  ponds  and  streams  in 
America,  where  ducks  can  be  restored  and  made  abun- 
dant, the  matter  does  not  seem  to  be  of  great  impor- 
tance. But  there  are  many  ponds  (in  convenient  loca- 
tions where  good  duck  shooting  should  be  had)  which 
have  neither  cover  nor  food,  and  some  artificial  ponds 
can  be  made  on  the  upland  preserves  in  order  to  have 
the  additional  diversion  of  duck  shooting.  It  is  well, 
therefore,  to  know  how  unattractive  waters  can  be  made 
attractive. 

Wild  rice  furnishes  both  food  and  cover,  and  this 
plant  easily  can  be  introduced  in  many  places  where  it 
does  not  now  occur.  The  methods  of  planting  it  will 
be  described  in  the  chapter  on  the  natural  foods  of  wild 


SAFE  AND  ATTRACTIVE  PRESERVES      29 

ducks.  Cat-tails  and  many  other  reeds  and  rushes  and 
willows  and  briars  planted  about  the  margins  of  ponds 
all  make  desirable  covers,  and  trees  which  bear  mast 
furnish  both  shade  and  food. 

In  England,  where  much  of  the  preserving  is  highly 
artificial,  the  reeds  and  rushes  are  not  always  regarded 
as  desirable. 

Mr.  De  Visme  Shaw  says:  "The  great  attraction  to 
duck  is  cover.  It  gives  the  birds  a  sense  of  security. 
Mallard — unless  kept  as  tame  as  farmyard  poultry,  and 
not  always  then — can  no  more  be  expected  to  attach 
themselves  to  a  bare,  open  pond  than  can  pheasants  be 
expected  to  make  themselves  at  home  in  a  locality  void 
of  trees  and  undergrowth.  One  sees  it  advised  that 
rushes  should  be  introduced;  but,  in  my  own  opinion, 
they  are  not  only  unnecessary  but  undesirable  as  well; 
they  eventually  become  a  nuisance. 

"As  temporary  cover,  let  stout  brushwood  be  used, 
and  plenty  of  it.  It  should  be  thrown  down  roughly — 
half  in,  half  out  of  the  water.  Against  the  brushwood 
plant  strong  young  brambles  or  well  rooted  runners. 

"Islands  which  have  been  made  in  the  pond  are  also 
to  have  brushwood  and  brambles  upon  them.  On  the 
north  side  of  the  pond  there  should  be  a  gently  shelv- 
ing bank,  gravelled  if  possible,  but  otherwise  given  a 
hard  surface,  whereon  the  ducks  may  sun  themselves 
and  where  they  are  to  be  fed." 

Briars  planted  thickly  a  short  distance  from  a  pond 
form  an  effective  barrier  against  intruders,  including 
furry  vermin  and  dogs  and  cats.  The  reader  has  ob- 
served, no  doubt,  that  ducks  often  frequent  that  part 
of  a  water  which  is  most  difficult  to  approach.  The 


30       SAFE  AND  ATTRACTIVE  PRESERVES 

birds  know  well  where  they  are  safe.  The  intruder  in 
forcing  his  way  through  heavy  cover  must  make  enough 
noise  to  warn  them  of  his  approach. 

One  or  more  small  islands  in  a  pond  are  especially 
attractive.  They  can  be  made  easily  in  shallow  waters 
and  should  be  planted  with  willows  or  bushes  to  afford 
shade  and  cover.  A  low  wire  netting,  such  as  is  shown 
in  the  illustrations  of  young  mallards  on  the  rearing 
ponds,  is  used  to  turn  predaceous  animals,  and  traps 
can  be  placed  to  advantage  just  outside  of  it. 

The  cost  of  making  the  ponds  safe  and  attractive  is 
inconsiderable.  The  ground  suitable  for  ducks  can  be 
purchased  or  rented  cheaply,  and  where  clubs,  or  syn- 
dicates, of  sportsmen  are  formed  to  share  the  expense 
of  a  gamekeeper  to  properly  look  after  the  fowl  good 
shooting  can  be  had  at  a  very  low  price  per  gun  within 
the  year  after  the  club  is  formed.  Some  of  the  ducks 
can  be  trapped  and  held  to  insure  a  breeding  stock  for 
the  following  season  or  the  birds  may  be  shot  closely 
and  a  new  start  made  the  following  season  with  birds 
or  eggs  purchased  from  a  game  farmer. 

If  some  of  the  ducks  and  eggs  be  sold  for  propagation 
or  as  food  they  should  pay  a  good  part  of  the  cost  of 
production. 


WHEN    AND    WHERE    TO     PROCURE    STOCK 

BIRDS   AND    EGGS— ENGLISH   AND 

AMERICAN  GAME  FARMS 

A  WILD  DUCK  farm  or  preserve  can  be  started  by 
•*^  purchasing  eggs  only  and  hatching  them  under 
barnyard  hens  or  in  incubators;  but  it  is  more  interest- 
ing to  start  with  ducks,  and  when  it  is  proposed  to  rear 
large  numbers  the  first  season  both  eggs  and  ducks 
should  be  purchased. 

Very  quickly  after  the  discovery  was  made  in  Eng- 
land that  wild  ducks  could  be  reared  and  controlled  on 
preserves  a  number  of  game  farms  were  started,  which 
now  furnish  hundreds  of  thousands  of  ducks  and  eggs 
to  the  sportsmen  every  year. 

Mr.  Bonnett,  who  at  my  suggestion  wrote  a  series  of 
articles  on  "English  Game  Preserving"  for  The  Amateur 
Sportsman,  says:  "Wild  duck  shooting  became  suf- 
ficiently popular  in  England  to  encourage  the  game 
farmer  to  give  it  his  attention,  and  now  there  is  hardly 
a  game  farm  in  the  Kingdom  that  does  not  pay  some 
attention  to  the  breeding  of  wild  ducks,  both  for  eggs 
and  for  young  ducks  to  be  supplied  for  shooting.  A 
hundred,  or  even  fifty  years  ago,  there  would  probably 

n 


32      PROCURING  STOCK  BIRDS  AND  EGGS 

have  been  little  demand  in  England  for  wild  ducks 
reared  by  hand,  but  the  constant  reclamation  of  marsh 
land  and  the  draining  of  the  fens  for  agricultural  pur- 
poses has  reduced  the  breeding  grounds  of  the  wild 
birds  very  considerably,  and  good  wild  fowl  shooting  of 
a  perfectly  natural  kind  is  not  easy  to  obtain  at  the  pres- 
ent time.  All  the  best  places  are  quickly  snapped  up." 

The  same  condition  exists  in  America.  The  desirable 
duck  marshes  as  far  West  as  California  are  now  owned 
or  controlled  largely  by  individuals  and  by  duck  clubs, 
but  there  are  thousands  of  places  where  ducks  can  be 
introduced  and  made  abundant.  Mr.  Bonnett  mentioned 
a  large  number"  of  English  game  farmers  who  are  en- 
gaged in  rearing  wild  ducks  and  stated  the  prices  of  the 
birds  and  eggs.  The  price  of  wild  ducks'  eggs  from  the 
game  farms,  he  says,  is  now  about  £1,  10s.  to  £2,  10s. 
per  hundred,  according  to  season,  or  £12  to  £20  per 
thousand.  These  figures,  of  course,  refer  to  mallards. 
The  prices  for  other  species  are  somewhat  higher. 

Mr.  Bonnett  in  concluding  his  article  said:  "There 
would  seem  to  be  a  big  field  open  for  the  game  farmer 
in  turning  his  attention  to  the  rearing  of  other  wild 
fowl  besides  the  ordinary  duck,  or  mallard.  Many  other 
kinds  of  fowl  could  doubtless  be  reared  just  as  easily, 
and  several  of  them  are  just  as  handsome  and  sporting 
birds.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned  the  beautiful 
little  green  runner  ducks,  the  gorgeous  shell  ducks,  the 
widgeon  and  the  teal  as  most  suitable,  but  there  are 
several  others  that  might  afford  sport,  notably  pintail,* 
gadwall,  shoveller,  tufted  duck,  pochard  and  scaup. 


•Captain  Gates  writes  me  that  pintail  and  teal  have  been  tried  on  pre- 
serves and  that  they  do  fairly  well. 


PROCURING  STOCK  BIRDS  AND  EGGS      33 

The  industry  of  game  farming  is  new  in  America,  but 
already  we  have  a  number  of  these  interesting  places, 
some  of  which  are  as  large  as  the  more  important  game 
farms  in  England.  These  can  supply  several  species  of 
wild  ducks  and  their  eggs  and  the  Canada,  or  common 
wild  goose,  in  good  numbers  and  at  fair  prices.  The 
number  of  game  farms  is  increasing  rapidly  since  the 
industry  is  profitable. 

One  of  the  largest  American  game  farms  in  the  United 
States  is  located  at  Oak  Park,  Illinois  (near  Chicago). 
Mr.  Wallace  Evans,  the  enterprising  owner,  has  given 
much  attention  to  the  rearing  of  several  kinds  of  wild 
fowl  and  can  supply  thousands  of  ducks  and  eggs. 

In  the  story  of  his  game  farm*  Mr.  Evans  said:  "In 
the  race  for  'more  game'  America  has  already  distanced 
England,  the  land  of  game  farms  and  preserves.  This 
seems  the  more  remarkable  since  in  England  there  is 
far  more  freedom  in  the  matter  of  rearing  and  selling 
game,  as  The  Amateur  Sportsman  often  has  said,  than 
there  is  in  the  land  of  the  free." 

Mr.  Evans  said  that  he  would  rear  during  the  year 
1909  8,000  pheasants,  besides  wood-duck,  mallards  and 
wild  geese,  mandarins  and  other  water  fowl. 

Wenz  &  Mackensen  have  a  prosperous  game  farm  at 
Yardley,  Pennsylvania,  and  this  firm  also  can  supply 
thousands  of  ducks  and  eggs.  Mr.  W.  A.  Lucas  repre- 
sents the  Clifton  Game  and  Forest  Society,  which  has 
a  game  farm  on  Long  Island  where  mallard  and  black 
ducks  are  reared  and  sold  alive  for  propagation. 

The  Whealton  Wild  Water  Fowl  Farms  at  Chinco- 
teague,  Virginia,  rear  thousands  of  ducks,  geese  and 

•The  Amateur  Sportsman,  September,  1909,  p.  13, 


34      PROCURING  STOCK  BIRDS  AND  EGGS 

swans.  More  dusky,  or  black,  ducks  are  reared  on  this 
farm  than  anywhere  in  the  country.  Other  game  farms 
are  located  in  Kansas,  Missouri  and  Colorado.  The 
Fair- View  Farm  on  Hudson,  Highland,  N.  Y.,  also  ad- 
vertise wild  ducks.  In  some  States  some  of  the  ducks 
can  be  sold  in  the  market  as  food. 

Besides  the  game  farmers  there  are  now  a  number  of 
large  game  preserves  in  America,  some  of  which  can,  at 
times,  supply  ducks  and  eggs. 

The  number  of  game  farms  and  preserves  is  increas- 
ing rapidly,  notwithstanding  the  inimical  laws  which 
prohibit  the  sale  of  game  or  only  permit  it  during  a 
short  open  season.  The  sentiment  of  the  people  now 
is  opposed  to  the  arrest  of  those  who  are  engaged  in 
such  industry  and  in  favor  of  the  proposed  breeders' 
law  providing  that  those  who  properly  look  after  game 
and  increase  it  shall  have  the  right  to  sell  it  alive  for 
propagation  or  as  food  in  the  markets.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  as  soon  as  this  law  is  enacted  in  all  of  the 
States  (it  has  been  in  some)  America,  as  I  have  said, 
will  become  the  biggest  game  producing  country  in  the 
world.  The  game  farms  rapidly  will  increase  in  num- 
ber. 

The  rearing  methods  employed  by  the  game  farmers 
are  similar  to  those  described  in  the  chapters  on  the 
rearing  and  handling  of  wild  ducks. 

Wild  fowl  have  never  been  regarded  as  true  game 
within  the  meaning  of  the  game  act  in  England,  and 
the  wild  fowlers,  or  market  gunners,  always  have  been 
permitted  to  shoot  wild  ducks  for  the  market  on  all 
public  waters,  saltings,  and  on  many  lands  about  the 
coasts  owned  by  the  Crown.  Wild  ducks  often  are 


PROCURING  STOCK  BIRDS  AND  EGGS      35 

cheaper  in  the  English  markets  during  a  long  open  sea- 
son than  beef  or  poultry  are.  One  of  the  chief  merits 
of  field  sports  and  of  game  preserving  is  that  they  tend 
to  keep  many  people  in  the  country  and  furnish  a  de- 
sirable employment  for  many  gamekeepers.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  also  that  when  game  preserving  is  more 
generally  undertaken  in  America  the  market  gunners 
can  be  permitted  safely  to  shoot  on  our  public  waters, 
and  there  would  seem  to  be  a  better  excuse  for  this 
shooting  (if  any  apology  for  the  killing  is  needed)  than 
there  is  for  the  shooting  of  those  who  shoot  only  for 
sport. 

Wild  ducks'  eggs  should  be  purchased  very  early  in 
the  Spring,  when  the  ducks  begin  to  lay.  The  orders 
should  be  placed  in  the  Autumn  or  Winter  in  order  to 
be  sure  of  procuring  the  desired  number.  Mallard  eggs 
in  America  are  now  sold  for  about  $3  per  dozen,  or  from 
$20  to  $25  per  hundred.  Although  this  is  about  twice 
as  much  as  the  eggs  cost  in  England,  I  am  satisfied  that 
there  is  no  economy  in  purchasing  eggs  abroad.  Not 
long  ago  I  purchased  a  lot  of  eggs  from  an  English 
dealer,  and,  although  they  were  securely  packed  and 
none  was  broken  in  transit,  the  percentage  which 
hatched  made  the  young  ducks  cost  more  than  they 
would  have  cost  if  they  had  been  hatched  from  Ameri- 
can eggs.  It  is  fair  to  say,  however,  that  the  eggs  were 
hatched  in  an  incubator,  and  they  may  not  have  been 
handled  just  right. 

The  hens  should  be  purchased  or  rented  before  the 
eggs  arrive.  On  some  preserves  the  hens  are  rented 
from  the  farms  in  the  vicinity  of  the  preserve;  the  rent 
paid  on  a  Long  Island  pheasant  preserve  is  25  cents 


36      PROCURING  STOCK  BIRDS  AND  EGGS 

per  hen.  I  believe  it  is  more  economical  to  purchase 
the  hens. 

Wild  ducks  for  propagation  should  be  purchased  in 
the  Autumn  or  Winter  in  order  that  they  may  become 
accustomed  to  their  new  surroundings;  otherwise  they 
may  not  breed  the  first  year.  Birds  which  have  been 
reared  in  captivity  are  more  likely  to  breed  than  freshly 
caught  wild  birds  are. 

I  believe  it  is  advisable  to  purchase  the  stock  ducks 
from  several  widely  separated  dealers,  since  in  this  way 
an  admixture  of  blood  from  two  or  more  different  flocks 
is  secured,  and  this  is  known  to  be  desirable  in  breeding 
all  animals. 

Mallards  and  black  ducks  were  sold  last  season  (1909) 
at  from  $3  to  $3.50  per  pair.  Sprig-tailed  ducks  and  teal 
sold  for  a  little  more.  Wood-duck  brought  several  times 
as  much,  but  the  prices  undoubtedly  will  be  lowered  as 
the  birds  become  plentiful  in  the  markets.  It  seems 
likely  that  American  game  farmers  will  not  be  able  to 
supply  all  the  sprig-tails,  widgeon,  teal,  and  other  fowl 
needed  on  the  preserves  next  season,  and  it  might  be 
well  for  the  preserve  owners  to  purchase  some  English 
teal  and  sprig-tailed  ducks.  These  can  be  procured 
through  the  dealers  I  have  mentioned,  and  they  should 
breed  the  first  season  provided  they  be  purchased  in 
the  Winter.  I  expect  to  make  an  experiment  with  these 
ducks  next  Spring,  and  I  would  strongly  advise  others 
to  do  so,  since  a  mixed  bag  is  desirable. 

The  gamekeepers  say  it  is  well  to  purchase  ducks  not 
over  two  years  old,  and  reliable  dealers  may  be  relied 
on  to  send  the  birds  ordered. 

I  plucked  some  of  the  feathers  from  one  wing  of  the 


PROCURING  STOCK  BIRDS  AND  EGGS      37 

ducks  with  which  I  made  some  experiments,  and  I  pre- 
fer this  method  of  confining  them  to  pinioning,  since 
the  birds  can  fly  later  when  the  wing  feathers  grow  in 
again.  I  was  surprised  to  see  how  rapidly  the  feathers 
were  replaced,  and  I  plucked  my  ducks  several  times 
before  permitting  them  to  fly  about.  On  game  farms 
many  of  the  stock  birds  are  pinioned,  of  course.  After 
the  birds  have  mated  and  the  ducks  begin  to  lay  there 
is  little  danger  of  their  deserting,  provided  they  are  well 
looked  after  and  fed  regularly. 

In  a  wild  state  the  ducks  are  monogamous,  or  nearly 
so,  but  on  the  preserve  one  drake  seems  sufficient  to 
serve  two  or  three  ducks  when  they  are  yarded.  When 
the  ducks  are  kept  in  flocks  and  have  access  to  a  large 
water,  Captain  Gates  says,  there  should  be  plenty  of 
drakes,  say  fifteen  drakes  to  twenty  ducks. 

When  the  preserve  is  well  situated  on  or  near  other 
waters  which  are  preserved  or  which  are  much  fre- 
quented by  migratory  birds  many  visitors  may  be  ex- 
pected, and  often  a  wild  bird  will  remain  to  mate  with 
one  of  the  ducks  on  the  preserve.  It  is  desirable  to  pre- 
vent elopements,  and  many  gamekeepers  trap  the  visi- 
tors and  pinion  them. 

It  is  an  easy  matter  to  trap  some  of  the  visiting  ducks 
in  a  wire  enclosure  (built  partly  on  the  land  and  partly 
in  the  water),  open  on  the  water  side,  where  there  is  a 
sliding  door  which  can  be  dropped  after  the  wild  ducks 
enter  the  trap,  or  a  swinging  door  which  will  close 
quickly  when  a  catch  is  released.  The  tame  ducks  can 
be  fed  daily  in  this  enclosure,  and  the  wilder  birds  will 
follow  into  the  trap,  when  the  trapper,  who  controls 
the  door  by  means  of  a  string,  is  well  concealed. 


38      PROCURING  STOCK  BIRDS  AND  EGGS 

The  wild  birds  can  be  held  by  clipping  their  wings 
or  pinioning  them,  and  soon  they  will  become  quite  as 
tame  as  those  on  the  ground.  I  enjoy  much  seeing  the 
ducks  up  in  the  air,  and  I  do  not  like  those  which  cannot 
fly  well.  It  is  a  beautiful  sight  to  see  the  flock  circling 
about  overhead  or  making  long  flights  over  the  sur- 
rounding country  when  you  feel  sure  they  will  return, 
but  there  is  always  a  danger  that  strangers  may  lure 
your  birds  to  make  a  longer  journey  than  is  desirable, 
and  for  this  reason  it  is  well  to  control  the  breeding 
ducks  during  the  Spring  migration  and  to  trap  enough 
breeders  in  the  Fall  before  the  shooting  begins  to  re- 
stock the  place  another  year.  Where  many  birds  are 
induced  to  nest  on  the  preserve  they  will  more  than 
offset  any  losses  that  may  occur,  and,  in  fact,  a  few 
score  of  breeders  will  supply  a  good  lot  of  shooting  and 
also  serve  as  decoys.  Some  English  writers  think  it  is 
a  mistake  to  allow  any  birds  to  breed  wild,  but  this,  of 
course,  means  shooting  of  a  more  or  less  artificial  char- 
acter, although  the  hand-reared  birds  may  often  fly  as 
high  and  as  fast  as  the  wilder  birds  do.  I  prefer  both 
wild  and  hand-reared  birds,  but  on  a  small  shoot  and 
as  ornaments  for  a  country  place  or  city  park  the  last 
named  are  the  more  suitable,  since  they  are  easily  man- 
aged and  can  be  kept  at  home  as  easily  as  tame  pigeons 
can  be  on  comparatively  small  areas. 

There  is  one  good  thing  about  hand-rearing:  The 
birds  can  be  multiplied  rapidly,  and  good  shooting  can 
be  had  within  eight  months  after  the  start  is  made. 
Pheasants  and  other  upland  game  can  be  reared  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  duck  ponds,  and  I  have  seen  the  pheas- 
ants very  abundant,  breeding  wild,  in  the  marshes 


PROCURING  STOCK  BIRDS  AND  EGGS      39 

owned  by  a  duck  club.    They  were  benefitted,  of  course, 
by  the  protection  given  to  the  ducks. 

A  syndicate  of  sportsmen  recently  has  been  formed  in 
New  York  to  propagate  wild  ducks  on  a  large  scale. 
Skilled  gamekeepers  will  be  employed,  and  the  upland 
game  will  be  made  abundant,  undoubtedly,  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  duck  ponds.  An  estimate  of  the  cost  of  the  under- 
taking will  be  found  in  the  chapter  on  How  to  Form  a 
Duck  Club. 


TT  is  an  easy  matter  to  attract  wild  ducks  to  places 
^  where  their  natural  foods  are  abundant  and  to  hold 
them,  provided  the  grounds  be  made  safe  and  the  shoot- 
ing be  done  in  a  manner  which  will  not  drive  them 
away.  On  the  English  preserves  the  ducks  are  fed 
largely  with  grain,  but  there  are  many  places  in  America 
where  their  natural  foods  are  abundant.  On  many  de- 
sirable places,  however,  the  ducks  are  seldom,  if  ever, 
seen  on  account  of  the  persecution  they  are  sure  to  en- 
counter. 

A  gamekeeper  is  required,  of  course,  and  since  the 
ducks  can  be  multiplied  far  more  rapidly  by  hand-rear- 
ing than  they  are  when  breeding  wild,  he  should  pro- 
duce many  ducks  by  this  means  in  addition  to  the  ducks 
which  breed  in  a  wild  state.  Many  plants  which  furnish 
food  for  wild  ducks  can  be  introduced  and  grown  in 
places  where  they  do  not  now  occur,  and  a  number  of 
dealers  can  supply  wild  rice  and  wild  celery,  two  of  the 
most  important  foods.  The  principal  dealers  are  North- 
rup,  King  &  Co.,  seedsmen,  Minneapolis,  Minnesota; 
Clyde  B.  Terrell  (R.  F.  D.  No.  5,  Box  40),  Oskosh, 
Wisconsin,  and  R.  B.  White,  Waterlily,  North  Carolina. 

40 


NATURAL  FOODS  OF  WILD  DUCKS    41 

Northrup,  King  &  Co.  can  supply  both  wild  rice  and 
wild  celery  and  possibly  other  natural  foods  for  ducks, 
and  they  have  issued  two  booklets  about  the  wild  rice 
and  celery  and  how  to  plant  them,  which  will  be  sent 
free  upon  request.  Mr.  Clyde  B.  Terrell  deals  in  wild 
celery  and  issues  a  circular  telling  how  to  plant  it,  which 
he  will  mail  to  anyone  applying  for  it.  R.  B.  White  can 
supply  wild  celery,  both  the  seeds  and  the  roots,  and 
also  fox-tail  grass  and  other  foods. 

The  wild  rice  furnishes  both  food  and  cover  and  is  a 
valuable  plant  wherever  it  can  be  successfully  grown. 
Formerly  there  were  many  complaints  that  the  wild 
rice  seed  failed  to  grow  when  planted,  but  the  cause  for 
many  failures  has  been  discovered  and  recently  it  has 
been  successfully  introduced  in  many  places. 

Although  the  wild  rice  is  regarded  by  many  gunners 
as  the  most  important  natural  food  for  ducks,  other 
natural  foods  seem  to  be  quite  as  valuable,  and  some  of 
them  may  be  grown  in  places  where  the  wild  rice  does 
not  thrive.  In  The  Amateur  Sportsman  for  October, 
1910,  I  printed  an  interesting  and  instructive  letter 
from  Dr.  R.  V.  Pierce,  who  has  been  very  successful  in 
introducing  the  fox-tail  grass  and  several  other  duck 
foods,  but  he  said  he  had  no  success  in  raising  wild  rice. 

The  sportsmen  who  own  shares  in  the  duck  clubs 
throughout  the  country  where  no  practical  preserving 
or  hand-rearing  of  wild  fowl  is  attempted  long  have 
been  interested  in  wild  rice,  wild  celery,  wapato  and 
other  natural  duck  foods  as  a  means  of  attracting  the 
birds  to  their  shooting  grounds,  but  with  the  growth  of 
practical  preserves,  where  ducks  are  encouraged  to  re- 
main and  nest  in  a  wild  state  and  where  also  they  are 


42    NATURAL  FOODS  OF  WILD  DUCKS 

hand-reared  in  large  numbers,  the  importance  of  the 
natural  foods  has  grown  rapidly. 

In  a  bulletin  on  "Wild  Rice,  Its  Uses  and  Propaga- 
tion," issued  by  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture,  we  are  told  that  by 
far  the  largest  demand  for  information  regarding  this 
plant  has  come  from  men  or  organizations  wishing  to 
secure  viable  seed  for  planting  near  shooting  grounds 
to  attract  wild  fowl.  In  the  future  this  information  will 
be  sought  by  those  who  are  breeding  wild  ducks  for 
sport  and  profit. 

The  bulletin  referred  to  and  a  second  bulletin  on 
"The  Salt  Water  Limits  of  Wild  Rice,"  issued  by  the 
same  department,  will  be  of  more  economic  importance 
and  value  now  that  the  States  and  Provinces  have  be- 
gun amending  their  game  laws  so  as  to  permit  the 
profitable  industry  of  game  breeding.  It  seemed  hardly 
worth  while  for  one  department  of  the  Government  to 
issue  expensive  bulletins  telling  the  people  how  to  pro- 
duce foods  for  breeders  when  another  department  was 
actively  interested  in  game  laws  prohibiting  such  in- 
dustry. The  two  bulletins  above  referred  to  contain 
much  information  about  wild  rice  and  the  best  methods 
for  its  introduction.  The  earlier  experiments  with  this 
plant  failed,  undoubtedly,  because  the  seed  was  dried 
before  shipping  and  planting.  It  is  now  packed  in  moss 
and  shipped  wet. 

Wild  ducks  also  are  fond  of  mast  and  eagerly  devour 
acorns,  beech  nuts  and  other  small  nuts,  and  all  of  these 
foods  impart  a  fine  flavor  to  the  flesh.  On  preserves 
where  these  natural  foods  abound,  or  when  they  are  in- 
troduced and  made  abundant,  they  will  be  found  not 


NATURAL  FOODS  OF  WILD  DUCKS    43 

only  to  attract  migratory  fowl,  but  also  they  will  reduce 
the  grain  bill. 

I  recently  saw  hundreds  of  mallards  on  a  New  Jersey 
preserve  feeding  on  acorns  which  had  fallen  in  a  road 
and  on  the  lawn  which  bordered  an  artificial  pond,  and 
I  have  often  shot  mallards,  wood-ducks  and  other  river 
ducks,  or  dabblers,  in  the  Central  and  Western  States 
when  they  were  feeding  on  acorns  and  other  mast. 

On  the  Pacific  coast  the  wapato  is  a  favorite  food  for 
wild  ducks,  and  it  has  been  successfully  introduced  in 
ponds  and  lakes  where  wild  ducks  are  properly  looked 
after.  I  am  not  aware  of  any  dealer  who  handles  this 
plant  or  if  it  has  been  used  anywhere  in  the  Eastern 
States.  Mr.  W.  A.  Howe,  of  Carleton,  Oregon,  who 
owns  a  small  farm,  which  has  a  small  lake  thirty  acres 
in  extent,  formerly  fed  the  wild  ducks  with  wheat  and 
in  this  way  secured  some  very  good  shooting.  In  writ- 
ing to  The  Amateur  Sportsman  he  said:  "We  have 
given  up  using  wheat,  as  a  few  years  ago  I  planted  the 
lake  with  wapato,  a  native  bulb  which  thrives  in  all 
lakes  in  this  vicinity  and  of  which  the  ducks  are  very 
fond.  In  this  way  we  have  plenty  of  ducks  for  all  rea- 
sonable shooting  and,  of  course,  at  a  much  less  expense. 
I  do  not  know  how  the  wapato  would  stand  transporta- 
tion. The  bulb  resembles  a  small  onion  and  grows 
freely  in  this  country  in  muddy  ponds  and  swales  where 
there  is  a  foot  or  so  of  water." 

Mr.  Howe  informs  me  also  that  the  carp,  which  were 
introduced  by  the  United  States  Fish  Commissioners, 
have  entirely  destroyed  the  wapato  in  many  waters. 
This  undesirable  fish  also  has  destroyed  the  wild  rice 
in  the  Sandusky  marshes,  Ohio,  and  in  many  other 


44    NATURAL  FOODS  OF  WILD  DUCKS 

places,  and  duck  breeders  should  see  that  the  carp  are 
not  introduced  in  their  waters  or  should  destroy  them, 
if  possible,  in  waters  where  the  natural  foods  for  ducks 
are  planted.  Mr.  Howe  says  he  has  no  carp  in  his  lake. 
In  the  letter  above  referred  to  Dr.  Pierce  says : 
"I  have  planted  a  good  deal  of  wild  celery  seed,  Val- 
lisneria  spiralis,  which  I  have  obtained  from  Mr.  Jasper 
B.  White  and  from  other  individuals  in  different  parts  of 
the  country,  with  very  good  success.  I  succeeded  much 
better  by  planting  the  seed  of  the  wild  celery  than  by 
planting  the  roots  of  the  same,  and  it  is  much  cheaper  to 
obtain  the  pods  of  the  wild  celery  and  plant  them  than 
to  undertake  to  transplant  the  plants.  My  lakes  and 
ponds  are  now  quite  well  seeded  with  this  plant.  I  have 
also  planted  a  good  deal  of  the  Potamogeton  pectinatus,  or 
'fox-tail  grass,'  and  with  good  success.  I  regard  the 
fox-tail  grass  as  one  of  the  most  valuable  duck  foods  be- 
cause it  seeds  prolifically  and,  also,  produces  bulbs 
which  are  much  sought  after  by  many  species  of  ducks; 
in  fact,  by  all  the  species;  also  by  wild  geese.  'Fox-tail 
grass'  spreads  very  rapidly.  When  once  produced  in  a 
duck  preserve,  one  need  have  no  fear  of  its  ever  running 
out  or  failing  to  grow  abundantly. 

"I  have  several  other  species  of  Potamogeton  which 
are  indigenous  to  my  lakes  and  ponds,  one  of  which  is 
well  worthy  of  mention,  as  it  is  prolific  in  the  abundance 
of  seeds  which  it  produces  and  spreads  rapidly.  I  refer 
to  the  Potamogeton  lucens.  Potamogeton  persillus  also 
grows  to  a  considerable  extent  in  my  lakes  and  ponds 
and  produces  considerable  seed.  This  year  a  most  boun- 
tiful crop  of  water  chinquapins,  or  Nelumbo  lutea,  have 
made  their  appearance  in  my  lakes  and  ponds,  covering 


NATURAL  FOODS  OF  WILD  DUCKS   45 

many  acres.  It  is  a  very  interesting  plant,  has  a  beauti- 
ful bloom  of  great  fragrance  and  produces  small  nuts 
about  the  size  of  a  rather  undersized  acorn,  of  which  all 
classes  of  ducks  are  exceedingly  fond.  I  have  not  planted 
much  of  any  variety  of  Polygonum,  or  smartweed,  but 
have  several  species  growing  in  my  duck  ponds,  which 
the  ducks  seem  to  feed  upon  very  much.  The  two  species 
most  successful  in  this  line  are  the  Polygonum  punctatum 
and  the  Polygonum  lapithifolium.  The  latter  is  a  very 
large  species  and  grows  a  good  deal  of  seed,  and  I  con- 
sider it  quite  valuable  as  a  duck  food.  A  small  sedge 
grass  grows  quite  freely  in  some  of  my  lakes  and  ponds, 
and  is  known  by  botanists  as  Cladium  effusium.  It  is 
generally  distributed  through  the  South,  I  believe,  and  is 
frequently  found  in  the  gullets  of  ducks  when  examined. 
I  have  not  had  any  success  in  raising  wild  rice,  Zisania 
aquatica.  I  have  sowed  large  quantities  of  wild  rice  ob- 
tained from  Canada  and  from  Minnesota,  and,  while  it 
would  grow  to  some  extent,  it  would  not  mature  seed. 
Probably  the  jump  in  latitude  was  too  great  for  it.  I  am 
now  endeavoring  to  obtain  some  wild  rice  grown  in  the 
Carolinas,  and  hope  that  it  may  do  better.  Thalia 
divaricata  is  a  plant  which  grows  on  my  preserve  quite 
extensively  and  is  much  sought  after  by  ducks,  espe- 
cially mallards,  who  feed  upon  the  seeds  growing  upon 
it  very  freely.  The  plants  grow  from  five  to  ten  feet 
high  and  hang  full  of  seed  of  large  size,  and  I  have  been 
planting  considerable  of  it  as  I  regard  it  as  a  very  valu- 
able duck  food.  'Widgeon  grass/  or  Rupia  maratima, 
grows  freely  in  many  of  the  lakes  and  ponds  of  St.  Vin- 
cent's Island,  and  its  seed  is  almost  universally  found  in 
the  gullets  and  gizzards  of  ducks  shot  on  the  preserve. 


46    NATURAL  FOODS  OF  WILD  DUCKS 

"The  foregoing  are  some  of  the  most  important  duck 
foods  on  my  preserve  and  most  of  which  can  be  readily 
introduced  with  a  little  pains  and  persistency  by  anyone 
who  takes  the  pains  and  trouble  necessary  and  has  the 
proper  sort  of  environment  for  these  plants  to  flourish 
in." 

Mr.  Whealton  says:  "My  young  and  old  shovellers 
will  eat  all  the  tadpoles  and  frogs  they  can  catch,  and 
their  greatest  activity  is  shown  in  the  pursuit  of  such 
prey. 

"In  regard  to  the  food  of  wild  ducks  not  in  captivity,  I 
will  state  that  our  bay,  Chincoteague  Bay,  about  six  miles 
wide  and  extending  northward  over  forty  miles,  has  its 
shallow  bottoms  covered  with  various  aquatic  plants, 
mostly  'ell  grass,'  as  our  people  call  it,  and  this  is  the 
chief  food  of  our  wild  geese,  brant  and  ducks.  The  red- 
heads and  scaups  feed  after  the  geese  to  get  the  grass 
which  the  former  pull  up  from  the  bottom.  The  black, 
mallard,  sprig-tail  and  teal  eat,  in  addition  to  the  salt 
water  plants  and  grasses,  or  rather,  the  grasses  of  the 
brackish  or  partly  fresh  water  of  the  upper  bay,  the 
special  duck,  grass  that  grows  in  the  fresh  and  partly 
fresh  water  ponds  of  our  marshes  and  on  our  islands, 
etc."* 

An  English  writer  recently  said  that  on  a  large  num- 
ber of  estates  both  in  England  and  in  Wales  there  is 
swampy  land  that  is  useless  to  the  farmer  and  under 
its  present  condition  is  worse  than  useless  for  shooting. 
This  land  can  be  made  most  valuable  to  the  sporting 


'Letter  to  the  author.  Dr.  Pierce  and  Mr.  Whealton  have  had  excel- 
lent opportunities  to  study  the  food  habits  of  wild  ducks,  and  I  am  much 
Indebted  to  them  for  assistance  in  the  preparation  of  this  chapter. 


NATURAL  FOODS  OF  WILD  DUCKS    47 

tenant  with  a  small  cost.  First,  he  says,  it  should  be 
fenced  with  large  mesh  netting  to  keep  out  hunting 
dogs.  Second,  open  some  pools  in  the  most  convenient 
and  quietest  parts.  In  these  place  some  boxes  contain- 
ing soil  and  plant  watercress  in  the  boxes.  Nail  some 
netting  over  the  tops.  This  will  prevent  the  cress  from 
washing  out.  Place  the  boxes  in  the  pools;  there  the 
cress  will  grow  and  seed  and  soon  establish  good  beds 
of  cress.  Third  (and  most  important),  get  some  wil- 
lows in  variety,  and  plant  these  at  a  distance  of  three 
or  four  feet  apart.  Insert  pieces  about  three  and  a  half 
feet  long  in  the  ground;  these  in  a  few  years  will  treble 
the  cost  of  planting  and  the  wild  fowl  will  have  places 
in  which  to  feed  and  to  breed.  The  shooting  will  be 
greatly  improved,  for  if  a  few  duck  were  pinioned  on 
these  places  the  wild  birds  will  breed  and  rear  their 
broods  in  safety.  The  willows  can  be  cut  every  year  or 
two.  Firms  who  make  baskets  will  buy  them. 

Wild  ducks  require  very  little  water,  and  they  will 
frequent  and  breed  beside  very  small  ponds,  provided 
they  find  an  abundance  of  food  and  safe  quarters.  If 
the  ducks  are  abundant  they  should,  of  course,  be  fed 
at  least  one  meal  of  grain  daily,  and  the  best  time  to 
feed  this  is  late  in  the  day,  since  feeding  at  this  time 
tends  to  prevent  their  straying.  Some  interesting  ex- 
periments with  wild  ducks  can  be  made,  inexpensively, 
on  thousands  of  farms  in  America  which  now  contain 
worthless  swamps  and  boggy  places. 

In  addition  to  the  plant  foods,  the  ducks  devour  many 
insects  during  the  Summer,  and  they  procure  about  the 
ponds  and  streams  much  animal  food,  such  as  snails, 
worms,  and  small  organisms  found  in  mud.  Many  of 


48    NATURAL  FOODS  OF  WILD  DUCKS 

the  ducks,  undoubtedly,  may  take  small  fish  when  they 
cannot  obtain  other  food,  but,  as  I  observed  in  a  former 
chapter,  they  prefer  a  vegetable  diet,  and  their  flesh  is 
much  better  for  the  table  when  they  are  feeding  on 
grain,  mast  and  the  plants  named  above 


VII 

ARTIFICIAL  REARING  OF  WILD  DUCKS 

YVTHERE  ducks  are  artificially  reared  they  should  be 
**  induced  to  nest  in  safe  enclosures,  wired  against 
vermin.  The  nesting  ground  should  be  a  grassy  field, 
shaded  on  one  or  more  sides  by  trees,  which  also  give 
shelter  from  cold  winds.  The  nesting  places  usually 
are  made  of  brush  arranged  to  form  little  shelters 
over  the  nests.  On  some  preserves  the  nests  and 
sheltering  covers  are  very  elaborately  made,  but  on  the 
preserves  where  I  have  seen  thousands  of  ducks  the 
nests  were  simply  protected  by  small  brush  stood  up 
in  a  conical  form  with  an  entrance  at  one  side  for  the 
duck. 

Captain  Oates  says :  "Ducks  love  to  nest  in  stacks, 
and  I  have  known  a  pinioned  bird  to  work  her  way  up 
the  side  of  a  stack  and  make  her  nest  fifteen  feet  from 
the  ground.  In  stacks  birds  can  burrow  so  deep  that 
no  weather,  however  inclement,  can  damage  the  eggs. 
Outhouses,  too,  are  very  favorite  places  for  ducks  to 
lay  in;  also  old  stick  heaps  and  the  bottom  of  thick 
hedges." 

On  a  Long  Island  preserve  I  saw  ducks  nesting  be- 
side an  overturned  stump  among  the  roots  and  on  a 

49 


50  ARTIFICIAL   REARING  OF  WILD  DUCKS 

preserve  in  North  Carolina  many  ducks  nested  on  the 
bank  of  a  small  stream,  often  under  the  projecting  roots 
of  trees  or  beside  a  log. 

It  is  an  easy  matter,  and  an  important  one,  to  induce 
the  ducks  to  lay  their  eggs  within  a  field  which  is  wired 
against  ground  vermin.  The  fence  is  made  of  chicken 
wire  and  is  run  into  the  ground,  and  the  wire  is  turned 
outward  underground  so  that  any  rat,  or  other  vermin, 
will  not  be  able  to  enter  the  field.  Traps  are  placed  out- 
side the  fence  and  always  beside  any  holes  where  ver- 
min has  been  digging. 

No  one  had  any  success  in  rearing  the  young  ducks 
in  England  until  the  proper  food  for  them  was  discov- 
ered. This  was  invented  and  made  by  a  well  known 
dealer  in  foods  for  pheasants  and  poultry,  and  duck  rear- 
ing at  once  became  common  on  the  preserves  and  on 
many  game  farms. 

A  number  of  excellent  wild  duck  meals  are  now  manu- 
factured in  England  and  in  America,  and  the  best  of 
these  may  be  obtained  from  the  Spratt's  Patent  (Am.) 
Limited,  Newark,  New  Jersey,  or  from  at  least  one  game 
farmer,  Mr.  Wallace  Evans,  of  Oak  Park,  Illinois. 

Since  young  ducks  live  largely  on  insects,  it  was  nec- 
essary to  provide  some  animal  matter  in  the  food.  The 
gamekeepers,  however,  quickly  transfer  the  young 
ducks  to  a  grass  field  after  they  are  hatched,  where  they 
can  secure  some  insects,  the  more  the  better,  no  doubt, 
and  the  coops  in  which  the  hens  are  confined  are  moved 
from  day  to  day  in  order  to  give  the  young  birds  fresh 
ground  and  a  better  chance  to  secure  insect  food.  Mr. 
Whealton  writes : 

"I  feed  all  my  young  wild  geese,  ducks  and  swan,  from 


ARTIFICIAL  REARING  OF  WILD  DUCKS  51 

the  first  day  they  are  hatched  until  ready  for  adult  fare, 
on  coarse  yellow  cornmeal  alone,  and  the  food  I  use  most 
exclusively  for  all  adult  wild  fowl  is  corn — corn  in  the 
whole  grain,  rarely  the  cracked  form — and  this  fare  I 
have  adopted  after  many  years  of  experiment  with  vari- 
ous mixtures  of  grain,  wild  duck  feed,  et  hoc  genus  omne. 

"I  should  add  that  I  do  not  confine  any  of  the  young 
wild  fowl,  but  let  them  go  with  the  parent  birds  to  forage 
for  themselves,  and  no  doubt  they  greatly  supplement 
the  ration  I  give  them  with  the  many  kinds  of  insect  life 
and  the  seeds,  leaves  and  roots  of  the  various  forms  of 
land  and  aquatic  grasses  and  plants  that  abound  in  my 
enclosures.  The  Canada  goslings  begin  nibbling  grass 
certainly  by  the  second  day  of  their  existence  and  do  not 
seem  inclined  to  take  to  the  water  as  early  as  the  young 
ducks  and  cygnets,  which  almost  roll  out  of  the  egg 
shell  into  the  water  and  begin  swimming  on  their  natal 
day. 

"The  cygnets  of  the  Black  Australian  swan  as  well  as 
the  adults  themselves  are  foragers  par  excellence  in  all 
seasons,  as  the  young  of  these  erratic  but  wonderfully 
prolific  breeders  are  hatched  out  as  often  in  midwinter  as 
in  midsummer.  The  young  black  ducks  seem  to  derive 
a  great  amount  of  satisfaction  as  well  as  nutriment  from 
the  ooze  and  mud  of  the  banks  and  shallow  bottoms, 
which  they  industriously  sift  through  their  bills,  while 
the  adults  are  almost  omnivorous,  eating  all  kinds  of 
roots,  grasses,  seeds,  flies,  insects,  minnows,  Crustacea, 
etc.  (I  have  opened  the  craws  of  those  killed  on  our 
marshes  and  found  them  full  of  periwinkles  swallowed 
whole.)  Gourmands,  these  fellows,  with  wonderful  pow- 
ers of  digestion." 


52  ARTIFICIAL  REARING  OF  WILD  DUCKS 

The  reader  should  remember  Mr.  Whealton's  state- 
ment that  his  young  birds  are  not  confined  and  supple- 
ment the  cornmeal  ration,  which  he  feeds,  with  many 
kinds  of  insect  life  and  the  seeds,  leaves  and  roots  of 
various  land  and  aquatic  grasses  and  plants,  "which 
abound  in  his  enclosures."  The  English  writers  and 
gamekeepers  regard  the  duck  meal  as  essential  where  the 
ducks  do  not  secure  the  supplemental  foods  mentioned. 
I  have  records  of  many  thousands  of  ducks  which  were 
reared,  almost  without  any  loss,  on  the  prepared  duck 
meal. 

Ducks  are  now  reared  even  more  easily  than  pheas- 
ants are,  and  the  young  birds  seem  less  subject  to  dis- 
eases. 

At  one  time  the  small  bantams  were  regarded  as  the 
best  foster-mothers  for  pheasants  and  ducks,  but  the 
common  barnyard  fowls  of  all  breeds  are  now  regarded 
as  good  as  any;  the  most  docile  hens  and  those  which 
are  the  more  easily  handled  at  the  feeding  time  are 
better  than  hens  which  are  wild  and  unruly,  since  the 
last  named  break  the  eggs.  Duck  eggs  are  more  fragile 
than  the  eggs  of  poultry. 

At  a  duck  preserve  in  New  Jersey,  where  I  spent  some 
time  studying  the  gamekeeper's  art,  the  sitting  hens  are 
placed  in  boxes  which  are  built  inside  of  a  hatching 
house  (see  illustration)  extending  from  the  floor  nearly 
to  the  low  ceiling.  The  hens  are  tested  on  eggs  until  it 
is  ascertained  that  they  will  sit  steadily,  when  some  of  the 
duck  eggs,  which  have  been  gathered  in  large  numbers, 
are  placed  under  them. 

The  eggs  when  they  are  gathered  are  placed  on  end 
in  a  tray  containing  bran,  sawdust,  hay  or  other  suit- 


ARTIFICIAL  REARING  OF  WILD  DUCKS  53 

able  material.  They  are  turned  daily  and  will  remain 
fertile  for  several  weeks,  during  which  time  they  are 
placed  under  the  hens  or  in  incubators. 

From  ten  to  fifteen  eggs  can  be  hatched  under  a  com- 
mon hen,  but  it  is  well  not  to  have  too  many,  since  the 
hen  may  not  cover  them  all.  Mr.  De  Visme  Shaw  says 
let  the  clutch  number  no  more  than  seven  if  the  hen  is 
set  in  cold  weather,  and  in  no  case  more  than  ten.  I 
am  inclined  to  believe  that  most  hens  can  handle  a 
dozen  eggs,  in  proper  nests,  nicely,  but  the  breeder  can 
learn  by  experimenting  just  what  his  hens  can  do. 
When  the  eggs  are  abundant  and  the  hens  scarce  it  is 
well  to  put  them  to  their  full  capacity.  Captain  Gates 
advises  making  the  clutch  twelve  eggs  for  hens  and 
thirteen  for  ducks,  and,  he  says,  five  of  his  ducks 
hatched  no  fewer  than  sixty-five  ducklings.  He  ad- 
vises leaving  two  or  three  eggs  in  each  nest  when  the 
eggs  are  gathered. 

The  first  few  eggs  laid  often  are  infertile,  and  these 
may  be  marked  and  left  in  the  nest  to  encourage  the 
duck  to  continue  laying.  Wild  ducks  will  lay  many 
more  eggs  than  they  can  hatch.  When  the  eggs  are 
removed,  after  enough  eggs  for  one  or  two  clutches 
have  been  gathered,  the  duck  should  be  permitted  to  sit 
and  hatch  a  brood. 

In  an  article  written  for  The  Amateur  Sportsman, 
Captain  Gates  says  one  should  get  from  twenty  to 
thirty-three  eggs  per  duck  each  season.  He  has  even 
done  much  better  than  this  at  times.  "Some  years  ago," 
he  says,  "I  tried  an  experiment  and  turned  into  a  small 
enclosure  two  pure  bred  wild  ducks  which  I  had  reared 
from  wild  eggs,  and  also  a  wild  drake  which  I  had  cap- 


54  ARTIFICIAL   REARING  OF  WILD  DUCKS 

tured.  I  fed  these  birds  myself  and  also  collected  the 
eggs  daily.  No  one  else  was  permitted  to  enter  the 
pen.  The  result  was  surprising.  I  obtained  119  eggs 
between  February  21  and  June  1.  I  was  most  particu- 
lar in  giving  the  birds  a  flower  pot  full  of  worms  each 
day.  On  two  different  occasions  three  eggs  were  laid 
in  one  day.  An  account  of  this  extraordinary  occur- 
rence was  sent  to  the  Field  (London),  and  it  was 
pointed  out  by  me  that  it  was  impossible  for  other 
birds  to  enter  and  lay  in  the  pen  and  that  the  eggs  were 
collected  on  the  days  before  and  after  the  occurrence. 
Further,  the  eggs  were  those  of  the  two  birds  men- 
tioned, their  shape  and  color  exactly  coinciding  with 
those  previously  laid.  However,  I  do  not  advise  con- 
fining the  birds  in  any  way;  give  them  plenty  of  liberty 
and  the  eggs  will  be  fertile  and  the  hatching  percent- 
age a  high  one." 

Elliot  says  the  mallard  breeding  wild  usually  lays 
only  six  eggs,  and  the  reader  will  observe  how  much 
more  rapidly  the  wild  ducks  are  increased  in  numbers 
on  the  preserve  than  they  are  when  breeding  wild.  One 
or  two  hundred  ducks  should  easily  produce  from  two 
to  four  thousand  young  birds,  and  even  more  if  the 
average  of  thirty-three,  named  by  Captain  Oates,  should 
be  attained. 

The  nests  in  the  hatching  boxes  shown  in  the  illus- 
tration are  made  of  a  heavy  sod  from  which  the  earth 
has  been  partly  removed  in  the  middle  so  that  it  will 
become  concave  when  it  is  placed  in  the  box. 

Oates  says  to  use  any  square  box  of  sufficient  depth 
and,  having  cut  some  pieces  of  sod,  build  up  the  cor- 
ners of  the  box  with  them;  then  cut  a  square  sod  to  fit 


ARTIFICIAL  REARING  OF  WILD  DUCKS  55 

the  size  of  the  box  and,  having  removed  some  of  the 
earth  underneath  the  center  of  the  sod,  place  it,  grass 
upwards,  in  the  box.  Line  the  nest  with  dry  moss. 

Mr.  De  Visme  Shaw  favors  placing  the  nests  on  the 
ground.  The  sitting  hens  and  ducks  should  be  fed  on 
corn  or  other  grain,  and  the  hen  should  be  taken  off 
and  fed  and  watered  daily. 

When  the  duck  starts  to  sit,  if  she  has  not  enough 
eggs  the  nest  can  be  filled  up  from  the  eggs  which  have 
been  previously  gathered.  It  has  been  recorded  in  the 
Shooting  Times  and  British  Sportsman  that  a  duck  will 
dispose  of  an  egg  or  two  if  she  thinks  she  has  too  many, 
and  Captain  Gates  says  upon  one  occasion  when  one 
of  his  ducks  was  sitting  on  fifteen  eggs  a  friend  on 
whose  veracity  he  could  rely,  saw  the  duck  fly  from  her 
nest,  close  to  where  he  was  standing,  with  an  egg  in  her 
bill.  She  flew  to  the  water  about  150  yards  away,  ap- 
parently without  breaking  the  egg;  but,  unfortunately, 
his  friend  could  not  get  up  in  time  to  see  what  she  did 
with  it.  She  hatched  out  the  rest  of  her  eggs  satis- 
factorily.* 

Since  the  wild  duck  returns  to  her  nest  with  her 
feathers  wet  after  being  on  the  water,  the  wild  duck 
eggs  should  be  sprinkled  occasionally  with  tepid  water 
when  they  are  hatched  under  hens.  This  should  be  done 
effectively  as  the  time  for  hatching  approaches. 

Mr.  De  Visme  Shaw  advises  that  on  the  twenty-fifth 
day  the  eggs  and  nest  be  removed  and  that  a  quart  or 
more  of  water  be  poured  into  the  nesting  box,  allowing 


•Captain  W.  Coape  Gates'  "Wild  Ducks."  For  breeding  periods  of  the 
different  species  breeding  wild,  see  Audubon  Am.  Ornith. ;  Wilson  Ornith. ; 
Baird,  Brewer  &  Ridgway,  N.  A.  M.  Birds;  Appendix. 


56  ARTIFICIAL  REARING  OF  WILD   DUCKS 

the  liquid  to  be  thoroughly  absorbed  by  the  earth  be- 
fore putting  back  the  nest  and  eggs.  This  might  do 
when  nests  are  made  on  the  ground,  as  Mr.  Shaw  ad- 
vises, but  less  water  should  be  used  when  the  nest  is 
made  on  a  sod  in  a  box.  A  thorough  sprinkling  of  the 
eggs  and  a  little  water  on  the  sod  is  all  that  is  re- 
quired. 

The  earlier  experiments  in  hatching  wild  duck  eggs  in 
incubators  were  failures,  since  the  fact  that  the  duck 
eggs  need  moisture  was  overlooked.  More  recent  ex- 
periments have  been  more  successful  when  the  eggs 
have  been  sprinkled  with  tepid  water.  I  succeeded  in 
hatching  some  eggs  (which  I  imported  from  England) 
in  an  electric  incubator.  These  eggs  were  thoroughly 
sprinkled  as  the  hatching  time  approached. 

Ducks'  eggs  take  from  twenty-four  to  twenty-nine 
days  to  hatch,  as  a  rule,  though  occasionally  a  lot  of 
eggs  that  have  been  put  down  soon  after  being  laid  will 
hatch  in  twenty-three  days,  if  placed  under  a  good  hen. 
Twenty-six  days  may  be  said  to  be  the  usual  period  of 
incubation. 

Wild  ducks  should  not  be  permitted  to  interbreed  with 
tame  ducks. 

The  Shooting  Times  and  British  Sportsman  says : 

"Any  reader  who  possesses  a  stock  of  real  wild  duck 
has  a  valuable  thing,  which  he  may  turn  to  good  account. 
Those  stocks  which  have  been  hand-reared  for  the  last 
ten  years  have  become  so  impregnated  with  domestic 
blood  as  to  be  practically  useless  for  first-rate  sport,  be- 
cause they  neither  can  nor  will  fly  high.  A  real  wild 
duck  rarely  associates  with  the  domestic  varieties,  and, 
as  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  never  interbreeds 


ARTIFICIAL  REARING  OF  WILD  DUCKS  57 

with  them,*  but  his  partially  tame  brother  has  no  such  re- 
luctance, and  if  the  two  kinds  are  near  each  other  it  is 
difficult  to  keep  them  apart.  Game  farmers  are  also  guilty 
of  infusing  domestic  blood,  for  they  have  found  that  a 
stock  of  duck  having  such  an  infusion  were  easier  to  pen 
and  manage,  and  the  larger  size  of  the  birds  they  thought 
would  appeal  to  their  patrons.  However,  what  is  the  use 
of  a  bigger  duck  if  it  refuses  to  fly,  for  the  primary  motive 
with  which  they  are  reared  is  to  provide  sport,  and  size 
and  quality  is  quite  a  secondary  consideration.  The  true 
wild  duck  is  a  delicious  bird  on  the  table,  and  the  slight- 
est introduction  of  domestic  blood  appears  to  destroy  its 
peculiar  piquant  flavor. 

"At  the  present  time  there  is  a  great  desire  in  shooting 
circles,  where  the  hand-reared  duck  as  a  sporting  bird  is 
appreciated,  to  revert  to  the  true  stock,  and  thoroughly 
stamp  out  the  halfbreeds.  This  is  why  we  declare  that 
he  who  has  a  true  stock  holds  a  valuable  possession,  for 
the  eggs  are  likely  in  the  near  future  to  command  a  big 
price.  There  is  no  mistaking  the  egg  of  the  real  wild 
duck,  its  shape  being  perfect  and  its  delicate  coloring  of 
pale  sea  green  unapproachable.  The  slightest  infusion 
of  domestic  blood  appears  to  rob  it  of  these  character- 
istics, and  the  egg  laid  by  a  bird  possessing  such  blood  in 
ever  so  small  a  degree  becomes  larger  in  size,  and  the 
green  gives  place  to  a  dirty  white.  The  first,  and  even 
second,  nest  of  eggs  laid  by  a  wild  duck  may  be  picked  up 
for  sale,  and  she  will  lay  again,  possibly  only  half  a  dozen 
on  the  third  occasion,  but  they  will  be  as  fertile  as  those 
produced  earlier,  and  the  ducklings  will  be  hatched  at  a 


"This  statement  seems  to  be  erroneous.     In  America  the  wild  mallard 
often  interbreeds  with  tame  ducks. 


58  ARTIFICIAL  REARING  OF  WILD  DUCKS 

season  when  they  are  easily  reared.    There  will  thus  be 
about  two  dozen  eggs  available  for  sale." 

On  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  and  elsewhere  about  the  At- 
lantic coast  there  are  many  half-bred  ducks  which  can  fly 
fairly  well,  but  the  reader  should  insist  that  the  ducks 
purchased  for  a  preserve  have  no  infusion  of  domestic 
blood.  It  is  most  desirable  to  have  birds  which  will  fly 
high  and  fast. 


VIII 

YOUNG  DUCKS  ON  REARING  FIELD 

WHEN  the  young  ducks  are  hatched  they  should  be 
removed,  with  their  foster-mother,  to  a  grassy 
field,  wired  against  vermin,  the  hen  being  confined  in  a 
coop  such  as  is  used  when  young  chickens  are  reared. 
The  young  ducks  are  allowed  to  run  about  by  day,  and 
the  coop  is  closed,  by  a  sliding  door  made  of  wire,  at 
night.  The  coop  should  be  placed  facing  the  sun,  and 
it  is  wise  to  have  a  windbreak  behind  it  to  keep  cold 
winds  from  the  little  ducks  early  in  the  season.  The 
birds  should  not  be  moved  to  the  field  until  they  are 
quite  dry  and  lively — when  they  are  about  one  day  old. 

The  ducklings  require  hardly  anything  to  eat  or  drink 
during  the  first  twenty-four  hours  after  they  are  hatched. 
They,  no  doubt,  will  spend  their  time  under  the  hen. 
They  should  be  fed  at  first  on  a  little  duck  meal  scalded 
and  placed  on  a  plate  or  pan  outside  the  coop.  A  little 
of  the  food  can  be  scattered  in  the  grass  and  within  the 
coop  to  attract  their  attention,  but  it  is  not  wise  to  con- 
tinue feeding  them  anything  inside  the  coop  for  sani- 
tary reasons.  The  hen,  of  course,  should  be  fed  and 
watered  at  least  twice  daily. 

The   young  ducks   should   be   fed   very   early   in   the 


60        YOUNG  DUCKS  ON  REARING  FIELD 

morning,  and  often  during  the  day  for  the  first  two 
weeks.  Only  a  little  food  should  be  given  at  a  time,  and 
not  more  than  they  will  eat,  since  it  is  not  desirable  to 
have  stale  food  about. 

Mr.  De  Visme  Shaw  says  young  wild  ducks  will  do 
well  if  fed  as  their  domesticated  relatives  are  usually 
fed;  but  they  do  better,  and  this  with  less  trouble  to 
their  attendant,  if  raised  from  the  shell  on  food  specially 
adapted  to  them — such  as  Gilbertson  &  Page's  largely 
used  wild  duck  meal — the  special  food  containing  a  cor- 
rect proportion  of  animal  matter. 

Mr.  Edgar,  one  of  the  most  successful  gamekeepers 
in  America,  whose  ducks  are  pictured  in  several  of  my 
illustrations,  uses  exclusively  the  duck  food  sold  by  the 
Spratt's  Patent,  Limited,  of  Newark,  New  Jersey,  and 
he  has  had  remarkable  success  in  rearing  his  young 
ducks. 

Until  the  ducks  are  about  fourteen  days  old  they 
should  be  fed  at  intervals  of  from  two  to  three  hours, 
daily,  the  first  feed  being  given  as  soon  after  daybreak 
as  possible.  From  this  age  until  they  are  about  a  month 
old  the  intervals  between  feeding  times  should  be  about 
four  hours.  A  fortnight  later  three  meals  a  day  are 
sufficient. 

I  fed  a  lot  of  young  dusky  ducks  (black  ducks)  with 
scraps  from  the  table.  They  usually  had  some  oatmeal, 
force  or  other  cereal  in  the  morning,  and  they  ate  bread 
and  vegetables.  Often  when  one  had  a  meat  bone  the 
others  would  chase  him  about  the  yard  just  as  chickens 
often  chase  the  one  which  has  secured  a  bit  of  food  of 
any  kind.  Early  one  Sunday  morning  they  devoured  all 
the  rolls  left  by  the  baker. 


YOUNG  DUCKS  ON  REARING  FIELD       61 

It  was  not  long  before  my  ducks  discovered  the 
kitchen  garden,  which  was  some  distance  from  the 
house  and  from  the  yard  where  they  were  fed.  They 
daily  made  excursions  to  the  garden,  usually  on  foot, 
sometimes  on  the  wing,  and  in  order  to  learn  what  they 
liked  I  permitted  them  to  do  considerable  damage.  They 
were  fond  of  lettuce.  This  was  the  first  plant  they  en- 
countered as  they  entered  the  garden,  and  I  do  not  recall 
anything  which  they  did  not  sample  liberally.  They 
were  very  fond  of  cucumbers,  and  in  one  afternoon  they 
devoured  several  hundred  young  cucumbers,  which  were 
to  have  been  made  into  pickles  the  following  day.  They 
destroyed  watermelons,  which  were  nearly  ripe,  cutting 
them  in  two  with  their  bills  and  greedily  devouring  the 
fruit,  eating  very  close  to  the  rind.  Several  ducks'  heads 
were  crowded  into  the  big  half  melons  at  one  time,  and 
there  was  soon  nothing  left  save  a  thin  green  shell. 

As  the  ducks  passed  the  sweet  corn  they  jumped  up 
and  plucked  at  the  ears,  sometimes  taking  a  little  corn 
from  a  cob  and  passing  on  and  at  other  times  pulling 
down  a  stalk  and  eating  the  young  grain  more  freely. 
Like  chickens,  they  destroyed  more  than  they  ate. 

When  I  sent  my  setters  out  after  the  ducks  the  dogs 
often  made  a  detour  and,  circling  about,  pointed  the 
ducks  from  the  side  of  the  garden  farthest  from  the 
house.  As  the  dogs  drew  up  close,  the  ducks  would  take 
wing  and  fly  to  the  kitchen  door,  where  they  knew  they 
were  safe.  These  ducks,  of  course,  were  too  tame,  but 
they  seemed  to  be  much  wilder  when  away  from  home. 
They  made  excursions  to  a  bay  a  mile  from  the  house 
and  often  were  gone  for  hours. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  a  patch  of  cucumbers  and  melons 


62       YOUNG  DUCKS  ON  REARING  FIELD 

planted  near  a  pond  on  the  preserve  and  allowed  to  run 
wild  would  prove  especially  attractive  to  tHe  ducks  and 
that  it  would  not  only  tend  to  keep  them  at  home,  but 
out  of  mischief.  Since  wild  ducks  fly  well  the  ordinary 
wire  about  a  garden,  used  to  keep  chickens  out,  would 
be  no  barrier  to  them,  but  some  plan  should  be  devised 
to  keep  them  out  of  gardens  when  they  are  reared  on 
country  places.  Probably  my  ducks  were  not  fed 
enough.  If  they  are  not  permitted  to  become  too  tame 
it  would  be  an  easy  matter  to  scare  the  ducks  away  and 
to  let  them  know  that  the  place  was  not  safe,  and  by 
providing  some  similar  green  foods  in  more  accessible 
and  safer  places  they,  no  doubt,  could  be  taught  to  stay 
out  of  the  garden. 

The  English  duck  preservers  and  gamekeepers  all  ad- 
vise that  ducks  reared  under  hens  be  not  taken  to  the 
water  until  they  are  seven  or  eight  weeks  old.  They 
should  have  water  to  drink  in  shallow  pans  and  plenty 
of  it.  It  is  well  to  put  some  sand  in  the  water  and  to 
scatter  sand  and  fine  grit  about  where  the  ducks  can 
always  find  plenty  of  these  necessary  materials.  The 
young  ducks  are  infatuated  with  the  water,  and  the  the- 
ory is  that  without  an  aquatic  mother  to  regulate  their 
bathing  and  to  lead  them  out  at  the  proper  time  the 
ducklings  stay  in  too  long,  like  some  human  youngsters. 
Young  ducks  are  liable  to  become  chilled  after  being  in 
the  water  too  long,  and  they  are  subject  to  cramp.  It  is 
for  this  reason  that  all  the  authorities,  including  the 
gamekeepers,  who  are  the  best  authorities,  agree  that  it 
is  best  to  keep  young  ducks  which  are  reared  under  hens 
out  in  the  field  and  away  from  any  water  until  they  are 
at  least  seven  or  eight  weeks  old. 


YOUNG  DUCKS  ON  REARING  FIELD       63 

Mr.  De  Visme  Shaw  says  the  young  of  wild  ducks  are 
as  subject,  or  almost  as  subject,  to  cramp  as  are  those 
of  their  domestic  relatives,  and  the  same  care  in  keeping 
them  from  water  must  be  exercised.  Whatever  kind  of 
vessel  be  used,  it  should  give  the  birds  easy  access  to 
the  water  for  drinking  purposes,  while  at  the  same  time 
preventing  them  from  wetting  their  down.  He  recom- 
mends a  framework  made  in  the  shape  of  a  gardener's 
hand-light  and  covered  with  galvanized  netting — the 
cover  being  placed  over  a  shallow  earthenware  baking 
dish — a  most  satisfactory  contrivance.* 

The  brood  of  ducks  in  charge  of  a  duck  should,  of 
course,  be  left  to  her  management.  She  will  take  them 
out  on  the  pond  for  a  short  swim,  and  it  is  a  beautiful 
sight  to  see  the  mother  with  her  troop  of  cute  little  duck- 
lings swimming  behind  her,  or  often  in  advance,  the  last 
named  no  bigger  than  tennis  balls.  The  proud  matron 
will  make  the  excursions  short  at  first  and  will  soon  have 
the  young  birds  out  on  a  sunny  bank  and  often  under  her 
warm  body. 

Ducks  are  fond  of  seeking  the  shade,  especially  in  the 
afternoon,  when  they  usually  take  a  doze.  About  4 
o'clock  they  begin  to  move  about,  afoot  or  awing.  I 
often  observed  my  ducks  dozing  in  the  shade  of  the 
house  or  trees,  but  at  4  o'clock  promptly  they  marched 
forth,  usually  to  raid  my  garden.  As  they  passed  my 
studio  window  I  often  called  to  the  children  to  ascertain 
the  time,  asking  them  if  it  was  4  o'clock.  The  ducks 
were  very  accurate. 

The  coops  should  be  moved  a  few  feet  daily  to  give 
the  young  ducks  fresh  ground  for  their  feeding  places. 

•"Wild  Fowl."    By  De  Visme  Shaw. 


64       YOUNG  DUCKS  ON  REARING  FIELD 

The  young  ducks  are  very  fond  of  flies,  grasshoppers, 
and  other  insects,  and  the  more  of  this  food  they  can 
obtain  the  better.  Captain  Gates  says  his  young  ducks 
ate  bees  alive  without  ill  effects. 

When  the  ducks  are  two  or  three  weeks  old  they  may 
have  some  wheat  or  cracked  corn,  which  should  be 
served  wet  or  placed  in  the  water.  Barley  and  corn  may 
be  added  to  their  bill  of  fare  a  few  weeks  later.  When 
eight  or  nine  weeks  old  (the  time  depending  on  the 
weather)  the  ducks  are  taken  to  the  water,  and  then 
they  can  be  fed  on  grain  only.  Cracked  corn  is,  prob- 
ably, the  best  food.  They  will  procure  a  variety  of  green 
foods,  insects  and  much  other  food  of  various  kinds 
about  the  pond  or  lake. 

In  places  where  wild  rice,  acorns  and  the  other  natu- 
ral foods  are  plentiful  the  ducks  will  require  very  little 
feeding.  One  meal  of  grain  a  day  should  be  sufficient  to 
hold  them. 


IX 

YOUNG  DUCKS  ON  THE  POND 

WHEN  the  young  ducks  are  taken  to  the  water,  after 
they  are  eight  weeks  old,  the  danger  of  losses  due 
to  disease  and  to  certain  kinds  of  vermin  may  be  said  to 
have  passed.  All  animals  thrive  best  when  given  much 
liberty,  and  the  young  ducks  should  grow  rapidly  in 
their  new  surroundings.  They  should,  of  course,  be 
properly  looked  after  and  protected  from  vermin,  and 
they  should  be  fed  at  first  two  or  three  times  daily  with 
wheat  or  cracked  corn,  to  which  may  be  added  a  little  of 
the  prepared  duck  meal,  the  amount  depending  upon  the 
amount  of  natural  food  they  may  be  able  to  procure 
about  the  pond. 

The  place  where  they  are  turned  down  should  be  a 
grassy  field,  sloping  to  the  pond,  with  some  willows  or 
other  trees  at  a  little  distance  from  the  water. 

The  field  may  be  wired  to  keep  out  stray  dogs,  cats, 
and  rats  and  other  vermin,  and  the  wire  may  be  ex- 
tended to  include  some  water  in  the  pond.  By  feed- 
ing, the  ducks  can  be  taught  to  use  this  safe  field,  al- 
though they  will  fly  out  and  explore  the  pond  and  often 
the  country  in  the  vicinity.  Ducks  are  great  wanderers, 
unless  they  be  kept  too  tame  for  sport,  and  they  may 


66  YOUNG  DUCKS   ON   THE   POND 

take  a  flight  to  some  water  at  a  distance  from  home,  but 
they  will  be  sure  to  return  at  the  feeding  time,  or  if 
alarmed,  and  if  a  horn  or  dog  whistle  be  used  and  sound- 
ed before  they  are  fed  they  will  learn  to  come  to  the 
sound. 

I  discovered  this  fact  by  accident  and  have  since  seen 
it  mentioned  in  the  English  magazines.  Some  dusky 
ducks  which  I  reared  in  my  yard  were  always  on  the 
lookout  at  feeding  time  and  often  came  to  the  kitchen 
door  and  made  loud  demands  for  my  appearance.  I 
used  to  feed  some  setters  there  and  in  order  to  teach 
them  to  come  at  the  sound  of  the  whistle  I  often  blew  it 
just  before  feeding  them.  The  ducks  quickly  associated 
the  sound  of  the  whistle  with  my  appearance  with  the 
food,  and  often  flew  swiftly  to  the  doorway  and  took 
the  food  I  threw  down  for  the  dogs  before  the  last 
named  arrived.  These  birds  were  quite  tame,  of  course, 
and  were  not  afraid  of  me  or  of  the  dogs,  but  they  could 
fly  well  and  often  explored  the  country  round  about  and 
went  out  to  a  bay  a  mile  distant,  as  I  have  said,  where 
they  remained  for  hours  and  took  their  chances  of  being 
shot  in  the  open  season.  I  feared  they  had  gone  for  good 
the  first  time  they  went  away.  They  were  much  tamer 
than  ducks  should  be  kept  on  a  game  preserve. 

It  is  a  singular  fact,  which  seems  almost  incredible, 
that  ducks  which  are  tame  in  the  presence  of  their  owner 
or  in  a  locality  where  they  know  they  are  safe,  often  will 
be  as  wild  as  any  wild  ducks  when  a  stranger  appears  or 
when  they  are  on  dangerous  waters. 

Mr.  Charles  C.  Townsend,  of  Colorado,  wrote  the  fol- 
lowing story  about  some  wild  ducks  for  Mr.  Shields,  the 
editor  of  Shields'  Magazine,  which  well  illustrates  this 


YOUNG  DUCKS  ON  THE  POND     67 

point:  "One  mile  north  of  the  little  village  of  Moses, 
Colorado,"  he  says,  "lives  the  family  of  J.  C.  Gray.  On 
the  Gray  ranch  there  is  an  artesian  well  which  empties 
into  a  small  pond  about  100  feet  square.  This  pond  is 
never  entirely  frozen  over,  and  the  water  emptying  there- 
in is  warm,  even  during  the  coldest  winter. 

"Some  five  years  ago  Mr.  Gray  secured  a  few  wild 
duck  eggs  and  hatched  them  under  a  hen.  The  little 
ducks  were  reared  and  fed  on  the  pond.  The  following 
spring  they  left  the  place  to  return  in  the  fall,  bringing 
with  them  broods  of  young;  also  bringing  other  ducks 
to  the  home  where  protection  was  afforded  them  and 
plenty  of  food  was  provided.  Each  year  since  the  ducks 
have  scattered  in  the  Spring  to  mate  and  rear  their  fami- 
lies, returning  again  with  greatly  increased  numbers  in 
the  fall  and  again  bringing  strangers  to  the  haven  of 
refuge. 

"I  drove  out  to  the  ranch,  November  24,  19X32,  and 
found  the  little  pond  almost  black  with  birds  and  was 
fortunate  enough  to  secure  a  picture  of  a  part  of  the 
pond  when  the  ducks  were  thickly  gathered  thereon. 
Ice  had  formed  around  the  edges,  and  this  ice  was  cov- 
ered with  ducks.  The  water  was  also  alive  with  others, 
which  paid  not  the  least  attention  to  the  party  of  stran- 
gers on  the  shore.  From  Mr.  Gray  I  learned  that  there 
were  some  600  ducks  of  various  kinds  on  the  pond  at 
that  time,  though  it  was  then  early  for  them  to  seek 
Winter  quarters.  Later  in  the  year,  he  assured  me,  there 
would  be  between  2,000  and  3,000  teal,  mallards,  canvas 
backs,  redheads  and  other  varieties,  all  perfectly  at  home 
and  fearless  of  danger.  The  family  have  habitually  ap- 
proached the  pond  from  the  house,  which  stands  on  the 


68  YOUNG  DUCKS  ON   THE   POND 

south  side,  and  should  any  person  appear  on  the  north 
side  of  the  pond  the  ducks  immediately  take  fright  and 
flight.  Wheat  was  strewn  on  the  ground  and  in  the  wa- 
ter, and  the  ducks  waddled  around  us  within  a  few 
inches  of  our  feet,  paying  not  the  least  attention  to  us 
or  to  the  old  house  dog  which  walked  near. 

"Six  miles  east  of  the  ranch  is  San  Luis  Lake,  to 
which  these  ducks  travel  almost  daily  while  the  lake  is 
open.  When  they  are  at  the  lake  it  is  impossible  to  ap- 
proach within  gunshot  of  the  then  timid  birds.  Some 
unsympathetic  boys  and  men  have  learned  the  habits  of 
the  birds  and  place  themselves  in  hiding  along  the  course 
of  flight  to  and  from  the  lake.  Many  ducks  are  shot  in 
this  way,  but  woe  to  the  person  caught  firing  a  gun  near 
the  home  pond.  When  away  from  home  the  birds  are  as 
wild  as  other  wild  ducks  and  fail  to  recognize  any  mem- 
bers of  the  Gray  family,  while  at  home  they  follow  the 
boys  around  the  barnyard,  squawking  for  food  like  so 
many  tame  ducks. 

"This  is  the  greatest  sight  I  have  ever  witnessed  and 
one  that  I  could  not  believe  existed  until  I  had  seen  it. 
Certainly  it  is  worth  traveling  many  miles  to  see." 

The  following  accounts  of  wild  ducks  in  Florida  and 
elsewhere,  with  the  remarkable  picture  of  ducks  at  Lake 
Worth,  which  was  sent  to  me  by  Dr.  Dutcher,  the  dis- 
tinguished President  of  the  National  Association  of 
Audubon  Societies,  also  illustrates  this  peculiarity  of 
wild  ducks. 

The  picture  was  published  by  the  Association  in  an 
educational  leaflet  and  Mr.  Forbush,  who  wrote  it,  says : 
"At  Titusville,  Florida,  where  no  shooting  is  allowed 
near  the  hotel  or  wharves,  the  wild  ducks  from  the  river 


YOUNG  DUCKS  ON  THE  POND     69 

become  so  tame  that  they  swim  about  among  the  boats 
like  domesticated  fowl  and  will  even  come  out  on  the 
lawn  near  the  hotel.  These  same  ducks  when  out  on  the 
river  beyond  the  'dead  line'  are  as  wild  as  the  wildest. 

"At  Lake  Worth,  Florida,  the  same  conditions  prevail, 
and  the  scaup  ducks  swimming  in  the  lake  become  so 
confiding  that  they  may  be  fed  from  the  hand.  In  the 
ponds  of  the  Middlesex  Fells  reservation,  near  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  where  gunning  is  prohibited,  the  black 
ducks  have  greatly  increased,  and  some  now  nest  in  the 
vicinity  of  Boston. 

"When  the  State  of  New  York  first  prohibited  Spring 
shooting,  breeding  black  ducks  were  rare  on  Fisher's 
Island.  A  few  years  later  there  was  good  shooting  on 
the  island  each  Fall  because  of  the  ducks  that  were 
reared  there.  Dr.  Shaw,  who  was  rearing  wild  ducks 
near  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts,  asked  the  farmers 
near  his  place  to  post  their  land  and  prevent  shooting  as 
a  means  of  protecting  his  ducks  from  poachers.  This 
was  done,  and  within  two  years  wild  black  ducks  began 
breeding  on  the  farms  all  about." 

A  friend  of  mine  who  reared  some  wild  mallards  near 
a  pond  in  Maine  informed  me  that  one  of  his  wild  ducks 
came  in  the  house.  These  ducks  could  fly  well,  and 
some  of  them  were  shot  when  on  a  visit  to  a  neighbor- 
ing lake.  Ducks  on  a  preserve  often  are  quite  tame  in 
the  presence  of  their  gamekeeper,  but  take  wing  when 
a  stranger  approaches.  This  is  as  it  should  be.  I  was 
talking  with  a  gamekeeper  one  day,  at  Allamuchy,  New 
Jersey,  when  some  of  his  ducks  came  in,  flying  high  over 
the  tree  tops.  They  headed  to  the  wind  and  were  de- 
scending to  the  little  pond  by  which  we  were  standing, 


70  YOUNG  DUCKS   ON   THE   POND 

when  they  discovered  my  presence,  and  with  loud 
squawks  climbed  high  in  the  air  and  soon  were  out  of 
sight.  "They  will  come  back  all  right,"  said  their 
keeper. 

Many  wild  ducks  now  are  bred  in  the  New  York 
Zoological  Park  and  in  Central  Park,  New  York.  These 
birds  have  learned  that  they  are  safe  in  the  presence  of 
visitors  to  the  parks,  and,  although  they  fly  about  and 
some,  no  doubt,  desert,  they  are  easily  approached. 
Wild  ducks  which  visit  ducks  on  the  preserves  soon  be- 
come comparatively  tame  in  the  presence  of  the  game- 
keeper. The  danger  is  not  that  the  ducks  will  be  so 
wild  as  to  desert  when  they  are  properly  looked  after 
but  that  they  may  become  too  tame  for  sport.  They 
should  be  shot,  as  we  shall  observe  later,  when  they  are 
away  from  the  pond  where  they  are  fed. 


1'IN-TAIL    EGGS 


WILD    DUCKS    IN    CENTRAL    PARK 
Photograph  by  the  Author 


THE  NATURAL  ENEMIES  OF  GAME 

THE  natural  enemies  of  game  birds  collectively  are 
termed  vermin  by  the  gamekeepers.  It  is  a  singu- 
lar fact  that  the  word  "vermin"  was  almost  unknown  in 
America  and  was  rarely,  if  ever,  used  in  our  sporting 
literature  until  I  wrote  a  paper  on  "Game  Bird  Enemies" 
for  The  Independent,  which  was  published  March  5, 
1908. 

One  of  the  chief  causes  for  the  rapid  disappearance  of 
our  game  is  that  it  cannot  stand  the  ravages  of  vermin 
and  shooting  at  the  same  time.  The  word  vermin  often 
is  used  in  the  English  sporting  magazines  and  books, 
and  the  importance  of  controlling  the  enemies  of  game 
in  order  to  make  a  place  for  the  shooting  often  is  dis- 
cussed. "To  destroy  vermin  is  to  preserve  game"  is  a 
familiar  English  maxim,  and  the  gamekeepers  know  that 
they  cannot  preserve  vermin  and  game  on  the  same  field 
and  show  good  shooting. 

Dr.  D'Arcy  I.  Hamilton  says :  "To  show  a  good  head 
of  game  on  an  estate  the  place  must  be  cleared  of  ver- 
min, and  there  is  no  time  like  the  close  time  for  this. 
The  professional  keeper  knows  this  and  knows  how  to 
accomplish  it." 

71 


72        THE  NATURAL  ENEMIES  OF  GAME 

Mr.  Owen  Jones,  an  Oxford  graduate  who  selected 
gamekeeping  as  his  profession,  says :  '  'Let  the  keeper 
look  after  the  vermin  and  the  game  will  look  after  itself,' 
is  a  saying  which  has  stood  the  test  of  time.  There  is 
no  more  interesting  phase  of  a  keeper's  work  than  the 
circumvention  of  vermin.  Dull  indeed  would  it  be  on  a 
shoot  where  there  is  absolutely  no  vermin;  one  might  as 
well  use  a  gun  which  mechanically  prevented  missing. 
Though  I  had  to  do  a  lot  of  game  shooting,  I  enjoyed 
the  all  around  sport  with  vermin  better.  Often  have  I 
thought  that  I  would  like  to  get  a  keeper's  berth  where 
vermin  teemed.  I  do  not  mean  a  place  swarming  with 
rats  and  rooks,  but  holding  a  good  old  fashioned  stock 
of  all  sorts  of  vermin."* 

The  naturalists  are  right,  no  doubt,  in  saying  that 
many  species  of  vermin  are  beneficial  and  that  they  do 
not  do  as  much  harm  as  some  gamekeepers  imagine  they 
do.  Laws,  however,  which  prohibit  the  killing  of  game 
enemies  should  not  apply  to  game  farms  and  preserves. 
The  matter  of  the  control  of  harmful  species  should  be 
left  to  the  game  breeder.  It  would  be  quite  as  logical  to 
say  that  the  shepherd  must  not  kill  the  wolves  which  de- 
stroy his  flocks  as  it  is  to  say  that  the  breeder  of  game 
must  not  control  the  enemies  which  kill  his  game. 

We  should  remember  that  it  is  easy  to  distinguish 
what  game  enemies  are  injurious  and  that  it  is  not  neces- 
sary or  even  possible  to  absolutely  destroy  even  the  most 
harmful  species.  This  I  regard  as  fortunate,  since  I  enjoy 
seeing  an  occasional  sly  fox  about  and  the  graceful  fal- 
con sailing  overhead  or  striking  his  quarry.  It  is  an  easy 


*"Ten    Years   of   Game   Keeping."     By    Owen    Jones.      London,    Edwin 
Arnold,  1909.     Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  New  York. 


THE  NATURAL  ENEMIES  OF  GAME        73 

matter  to  make  game  so  abundant  that  some  of  it  can  be 
spared  to  feed  an  occasional  enemy. 

There  is  no  other  cause  for  the  decrease  of  the  wild 
fowl,  which  is  of  more  importance  to  American  sports- 
men than  their  destruction  by  vermin,  excepting,  of 
course,  the  draining  of  the  ponds  and  marshes,  which 
amounts  to  a  total  annihilation  in  the  places  which  are 
drained. 

The  relation  of  the  game  to  its  natural  enemies  and 
the  laws  which  govern  nature's  balance  are  well  under- 
stood by  game  preservers.  Game  preserving  is  highly 
scientific.  Without  it  evidently  it  is  certain,  in  America, 
that  we  cannot  have  good  shooting  save  in  the  more  un- 
settled regions.  When  we  undertake  it  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  game  can  be  kept  abundant  in  the  most 
densely  populated  regions,  although  thousands  of  birds 
be  shot  every  year.  This  has  been  proven  in  England 
everywhere  and  in  many  places  in  the  United  States 
where  the  experiment  has  been  tried.* 

All  forms  of  life,  it  is  well  known,  tend  to  increase 
with  such  great  rapidity  that  a  very  few  of  any  species 
soon  would  increase  so  as  to  overrun  the  earth  were  it 
not  for  the  many  natural  checks  to  their  increase.  Dar- 
win says:  "Lighten  any  check,  mitigate  the  destruction 
ever  so  little  and  the  number  of  the  species  will  almost 
instantaneously  increase  to  any  amount." 

The  converse  of  Darwin's  proposition  equally  is  true. 
When  we  add  to  the  checks  to  the  increase  of  game 


*The  best  examples  of  game  abundance  on  the  upland  are  the  quail 
preserves  of  North  Carolina  and  the  pheasant  preserves  of  New  Eng- 
land, New  York,  New  Jersey,  etc.  There  are  a  number  of  wild  duck 
preserves  In  New  England,  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  where  wild  fowl 
have  been  restored  and  made  abundant. 


74        THE  NATURAL  ENEMIES  OF  GAME 

"ever  so  little"  we  must  expect  the  number  of  the  species 
to  decrease,  and  the  proposition  has  been  proven  in 
America  as  conclusively  as  Darwin's  statement  has  been 
proven  in  England.  Our  game  has  vanished  because  we 
have  added  an  important  check  to  its  increase — shoot- 
ing— without  first  removing  some  of  the  natural  checks 
to  its  increase  to  make  a  place  for  the  shooting.  The  Eng- 
lish gamekeepers  have  removed  the  check  to  increase — 
vermin — as  far  as  possible,  and  the  guns  shoot  thousands 
of  birds  every  year  without  causing  a  diminution  in  the 
number  of  the  species. 

The  English  sportsmen  leave  a  remnant  of  game  every 
year  to  restock  the  fields,  just  as  vermin,  under  natural 
conditions,  leaves  a  remnant  for  restocking,  but  in 
America  we  shoot  the  remnant  and  wonder  why  our 
thousand  or  more  game  laws  don't  work. 

When  any  species  of  game  becomes  reduced  in  num- 
bers and  its  natural  enemies  hold  their  own  or  become 
more  numerous,  the  last  named,  evidently,  are  super- 
abundant when  compared  with  the  game,  and  as  a  result 
of  such  conditions  the  game  must  decrease  in  numbers, 
even  in  the  absence  of  any  shooting.  It  survives  with 
difficulty  if  it  survives  at  all.  The  birds  which  survive 
often  change  their  habits  and  become  extremely  wary, 
and  they  may,  in  time,  show  an  increase,  since  it  is  a  diffi- 
cult matter  absolutely  to  destroy  any  species.  Ruffed 
grouse  and  quail  have  responded  to  laws  prohibiting 
shooting  for  a  term  of  years,  and  they  have  increased  in 
numbers  in  many  localities,  but  not  in  all.  It  is  evident 
that  the  laws  cannot  restore  them  in  counties  where  they 
have  become  extinct.  It  also  is  evident  that  they  must 
again  become  scarce  when  shooting  is  resumed.  The 


THE  NATURAL  ENEMIES  OF  GAME        75 

prairie  grouse  no  longer  occur  in  hundreds  of  counties 
where  once  they  were  tremendously  abundant,  and  the 
wild  ducks  are  never  seen  on  thousands  of  ponds  and 
small  lakes  and  streams  where  the  shooting  was  fine  a 
few  years  ago.  The  wild  ducks  cannot  nest  and  success- 
fully rear  their  young  beside  waters  which  are  overrun 
with  trespassers,  and  dogs,  cats  and  rats,  in  addition  to 
their  natural  enemies,  which  are  sufficient  to  check  their 
too  rapid  increase  and  to  preserve  nature's  balance. 

Even  in  Great  Britain,  where  preserves  are  numerous, 
it  has  been  found  impossible  to  entirely  exterminate  ver- 
min, and  a  continual  war  is  waged  against  game  enemies. 
The  idea  that  it  is  not  necessary  or  desirable  to  exter- 
minate all  vermin  seems  to  be  gaining  ground.  The  Rev. 
H.  A.  Macpherson,  a  good  game  preserver  and  writer  on 
field  sports,  has  well  said,  "Vermin  should  not  be  ex- 
tirpated root  and  branch,  but  common  sense  requires 
that  they  should  be  kept  within  reasonable  numerical 
limits."  Referring  to  a  statement  of  an  observer  that  he 
counted  the  remains  of  over  thirty  grouse  under  the 
branches  of  a  large  fir,  which  had  been  killed  by  a  kite, 
Dr.  Macpherson  says:  "Sorry  should  I  be  to  do  an  in- 
jury to  a  British  kite.  But  our  personal  feelings  must 
not  be  allowed  to  overpower  our  better  judgment,  and 
the  preservation  of  rapacious  birds,  however  desirable 
from  a  scientific  or  philosophical  standpoint,  possesses 
some  distinct  drawbacks  for  game  preservers." 

A  good  rule  to  follow  is  to  control  the  natural  ene- 
mies of  game  only  when  they  appear  to  be  doing  serious 
damage.  A  hawk  trap  recently  has  been  invented  in 
England  which  captures  the  hawks  alive.  The  hawks 
which  do  very  little  damage  and  which  are  regarded  as 


76        THE  NATURAL  ENEMIES  OF  GAME 

beneficial  birds  can  be  released  and  the  worst  species 
destroyed. 

Mr.  Owen  Jones,  gamekeeper,  also  refers  several  times 
to  the  growing  sentiment  in  favor  of  the  idea  that  vermin 
should  not  be  too  closely  controlled. 

"I  regret  to  say,"  he  observes,  "that  the  last  surviving 
pair  of  magpies  in  the  locality  where  I  was  keepering 
were  picked  up  by  a  keeper  (not  myself).  Utterly  to 
exterminate  birds  so  handsome  may  save  a  trifle  of  game 
for  the  gun,  but  surely  such  extremes  of  preservation  can 
only  bring  upon  the  perpetrators  the  derision  and  dis- 
gust of  all  sane  people.  A  judicious  thinning  of  hawks 
and  magpies  is  quite  enough  to  satisfy  the  demands  of 
any  sportsman,  and  their  extinction  is  bound  to  react  to 
the  detriment  of  the  selfish  few." 

Mr.  Jones  makes  a  good  point  in  favor  of  the  egg 
stealing  jay.  No  sane  keeper,  he  says,  would  wish  to  be 
without  a  sprinkling  of  jays  in  his  woods,  for  he  has  no 
more  vigilant  and  useful  sentinels.  In  a  wood  where 
there  are  jays,  neither  cat,  nor  fox,  nor  man,  can  stir 
without  being  spotted  and  proclaimed.  Jays  also  take  a 
somewhat  uncalled  for  delight  in  mobbing  a  barn  owl 
should  it  get  abroad  in  the  day  time. 

Although  Mr.  Jones  lost  hundreds  of  eggs  every  year 
by  rooks,  and  little  pheasants  on  the  rearing  field  had  to 
be  guarded  constantly,  he  does  not  favor  the  extirpation 
of  the  rook.  "I  love  as  much  as  anybody,"  he  says,  "their 
cawing  at  the  coming  of  Spring  when  the  daisies  open 
wide."  Mr.  Jones  also  says:  "Reviewing  the  vermin 
question  as  a  whole — that  is,  first,  What  vermin  prey 
largely  on  game?  and,  second,  What  creatures  prey  on 
it  only  occasionally? — I  admit  that  there  is  much  room 


THE  NATURAL  ENEMIES  OF  GAME        77 

for  improvement  in  the  attitude  of  keepers.  However, 
I  am  certain  that  since  education  means  enlightenment 
and  modern  preservation  and  shooting  demand  keepers 
of  better  education  than  formerly,  the  time  is  not  far  dis- 
tant when  all  keepers  will  be  men  of  education,  and, 
therefore,  of  enlightenment.  In  this  way,  and  in  no 
other,  will  come  about  a  rational  discrimination  in  the 
matter  of  creatures  now  so  often  slaughtered  indiscrimi- 
nately as  vermin.  What  the  thinking  keeper  of  today 
resents  is  that  all  keepers  should  be  tarred  with  the  sins 
of  individuals,  but  so  long  as  the  world  lasts  gamekeep- 
ers will  continue  to  complain  that  there  is  no  visible  end 
to  the  vermin,  whether  it  be  clothed  in  feathers  or  fur." 

I  have  quoted  the  observations  of  Dr.  Macpherson  and 
Mr.  Jones  at  some  length,  since  this  matter  of  the  control 
of  vermin  is  of  much  importance  in  America  just  now, 
where  many  game  preserves  are  springing  into  existence 
in  every  State  in  the  Union.  We  may  as  well  start  right 
and  learn  to  distinguish  between  the  game  enemies  which 
should  be  controlled  and  those  which  are  comparatively 
harmless.  The  reader  should  remember,  however,  at  all 
times  that  there  is  a  difference  in  predaceous  birds  of  the 
same  species  and  that  the  same  species  may  act  differ- 
ently in  different  places  or  under  different  circumstances. 

I  have  shot  certain  hawks,  which  are  regarded  as  more 
beneficial  than  harmful,  when  they  were  in  the  act  of 
taking  game  birds,  and  Mr.  Thompson,  a  skilled  keeper, 
writing  for  The  Amateur  Sportsman,*  tells  of  perform- 
ances of  the  little  sparrow  hawk  on  his  rearing  field  near 
Chicago,  Illinois,  which  would  warrant  the  control  of  this 
bird  in  the  way  he  describes. 

•The  Amateur  Sportsman,  June,  1910. 


XI 
WINGED  ENEMIES  OF  WILD  FOWL 

TV7ILD  ducks  have  many  natural  enemies,  and  in 
*^  populous  regions  certain  domestic  enemies  are 
added  which  are  sufficient  to  upset  nature's  balance  and 
to  prevent  an  increase  of  the  fowl,  even  in  places  where 
shooting  is  prohibited. 

The  enemies  of  wild  fowl  may  be  classified  as  winged 
enemies  and  ground,  or  furry,  enemies.  The  winged 
enemies  are  the  duck  hawk  and  certain  other  hawks, 
eagles,  crows,  owls,  gulls,  herons,  jays,  magpies  and 
sparrows.  Mr.  Thompson,  a  capable  gamekeeper,  men- 
tions the  red-headed  woodpecker  as  an  enemy  of  ducks 
and  says :  "I  have  shot  this  thief  as  he  carried  the  egg 
of  a  wood-duck  over  my  head,  and  I  have  seen  him  even 
rob  the  chicken  coop."*  It  seems  doubtful,  however,  if 
the  woodpecker  would  do  much  harm,  and  since  it  is  a 
useful  and  interesting  bird  I  would  not  advise  its  de- 
struction unless  it  appeared  to  be  overabundant  and  was 
observed  to  do  much  damage. 

Some  of  the  other  winged  enemies  of  game,  also,  are 
useful  and  beneficial  birds,  and  the  game  preserver  al- 
ways should  bear  in  mind,  as  I  have  observed,  the  fact 

*The  Amateur  Sportsman,  1910. 

78 


WINGED  ENEMIES  OF  WILD  FOWL        79 

that  it  is  not  necessary  or  desirable  to  destroy  them  all. 
They  should  be  controlled  only  so  far  as  is  necessary  to 
permit  the  game  to  increase  in  numbers  rapidly.  In 
some  places  certain  feathered  enemies  of  game  are  not 
sufficiently  plentiful  to  require  much  attention.  Pre- 
daceous  birds,  however,  are  known  to  gather  where 
food  is  abundant,  and  gamekeepers  should  not  be 
prevented  by  law  from  controlling  them  when  it  be- 
comes necessary  to  save  the  game  birds  on  the  rearing 
grounds. 

The  Eagle. — This  magnificent  bird  of  prey  has  been 
so  nearly  extirpated  in  the  Eastern  States  that  he  does 
very  little  damage,  and  in  places  where  it  is  rare  no  one 
should  think  of  killing  it,  unless  it  does  much  damage. 
I  would  be  inclined  to  let  an.  eagle  have  a  number  of 
ducks,  and  I  may  say  as  much  for  several  other  pre- 
datory creatures  when  they  are  not  numerous  enough  to 
do  a  great  amount  of  harm. 

I  saw  an  eagle  not  long  ago  which  was  killed  by  the 
gamekeeper  on  a  New  Jersey  preserve  when  it  attempted 
to  take  his  ducks,  and  on  an  adjoining  preserve  the 
gamekeeper  has  a  mounted  eagle  in  his  cottage  which  he 
shot  when  it  was  preying  upon  his  pheasants. 

In  certain  parts  of  the  West  eagles  are  fairly  abundant, 
and  a  number  of  eagles  should  not  be  tolerated  in  the 
vicinity  of  a  duck  pond  any  more  than  a  pack  of  wolves 
should  be  tolerated  in  a  sheep  fold.  Laws  intended  to 
protect  vermin  for  sentimental  or  for  economic  reasons 
should  not  apply,  as  I  have  said  often,  to  the  breeders  or 
preservers  of  game. 

In  most  parts  of  its  range  the  bald  eagle  feeds  more 
largely  on  water  fowl  than  on  any  other  kind  of  birds. 


80        WINGED  ENEMIES  OF  WILD  FOWL 

In  the  pursuit  of  this  game  this  eagle  employs  great 
strength  and  skill,  to  which  it  frequently  adds  no 
small  amount  of  strategy.  Geese,  brant  and  swans, 
owing  apparently  to  their  large  size,  are  its  favorite 
food.* 

Mr.  William  Brewster  says  geese  and  brant  form  the 
favorite  food  of  the  eagle,  and  the  address  displayed  in 
their  capture  is  very  remarkable.  The  poor  victim  has 
apparently  not  the  slightest  chance  for  escape.  The 
eagle's  flight,  ordinarily  slow  and  somewhat  heavy,  be- 
comes, in  the  excitement  of  pursuit,  exceedingly  swift  and 
graceful,  and  the  fugitive  is  quickly  overtaken.  When 
close  upon  its  quarry  the  eagle  suddenly  sweeps  beneath 
it,  and,  turning  back  downward,  thrusts  its  powerful 
talons  up  into  its  breast.  A  brant  or  duck  is  carried  off 
bodily  to  the  nearest  marsh  or  sandbar,  but  a  Canada 
goose  is  too  heavy  to  be  thus  easily  disposed  of.  The 
two  great  birds  fall  together  to  the  water  beneath,  where 
the  eagle  literally  tows  his  prize  along  the  surface  until 
the  shore  is  reached.  .  .  .  The  royal  bird  seems  to  find 
little  difficulty  in  overhauling  the  swiftest  flying  ducks. 

The  eagles  are  said  to  be  numerous  on  the  Atlantic 
coast  near  Cape  Charles  in  the  Winter.  Mr.  Nathan 
Cobb  informed  Mr.  Brewster  that  on  several  occasions 
he  had  seen  as  many 'as  eight  at  once. 

The  gray  sea  eagle,  about  the  same  size  as  the  bald 
eagle,  is  also  fond  of  wild  fowl,  but  in  America  it  occurs 
only  in  Greenland,  on  the  shores  of  the  Cumberland 
Sound  and  on  the  Aleutian  Islands. f 

The  golden  eagle,  often  called  the  mountain  eagle,  is 


*"The  N.  Am.  Eagles."    Bulletin  27,  Biological  Survey,  U.  8.  Dept.  Agr. 
t Bulletin  27,  Biological  Survey,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr. 


EGG-STEALING    CROW 

From    a    Copyrighted    Photograph    Sent    to    The    Amateur 
Sportsman  by  Anson  O.  Howard. 


WINGED  ENEMIES  OF  WILD  FOWL        81 

found  chiefly  in  the  Western  and  North  Western  parts 
of  the  United  States.  It  takes  many  rabbits  and  upland 
birds,  especially  sage  grouse  and  sharp-tailed  grouse,  but 
it  does  not  seem  to  take  so  many  ducks  and  other  wild 
fowl  as  the  bald  eagle,  probably  because  the  ducks  are 
not  so  abundant  in  the  mountainous  regions  it  prefers. 
Mr.  R.  MacFarlane,  however,  mentions  ducks  as  a 
part  of  the  regular  food  of  this  eagle  in  the  region 
of  the  Anderson  River,  Mackenzie,  and  Mr.  L.  M. 
Turner  makes  a  similar  statement  regarding  the  coast  of 
Alaska.* 

The  Crow. — I  am  strongly  inclined  to  regard  the  crow 
as  one  of  the  worst  winged  enemies  of  the  wild  ducks  in 
places  where  crows  are  abundant.  This  wary  bird  has 
become  superabundant  in  many  places  since  the  game 
has  decreased  while  the  crow  has  increased  in  numbers. 
Crows  destroy  both  the  eggs  and  the  young  birds.  All 
of  the  gamekeepers  regard  them  as  very  destructive. 
The  crow  has  been  observed  in  the  New  York  Zoological 
Park  taking  young  ducks,  and  on  many  farms  he  has 
been  seen  to  take  the  eggs  and  young  of  poultry. 

Mr.  Price,  at  the  Fells  reservation,  in  Massachusetts, 
raises  both  wild  and  domesticated  ducks.  He  says  the 
crows  took  five  out  of  seven  young  ducks  in  one  day.  In 
June  about  one  hundred  mallards  were  turned  out 
on  a  small  pond.  Ducks  lay  their  eggs  very  early  in  the 
morning,  and  every  morning  crows  were  seen  carrying 
off  eggs.  Mr.  Price  says  they  took  about  fifty  each  week, 
carrying  off  altogether  from  eight  hundred  to  one  thou- 
sand eggs  during  the  season,  taking  about  all  the  eggs 
laid  by  the  ducks.  Crows  are  attracted  by  game  when  it 

•Bulletin  27,  Biological  Surrey,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr. 


82        WINGED  ENEMIES  OF  WILD  FOWL 

is  plentiful,  and  a  gamekeeper  at  the  Illinois  game  farm 
killed  2,410  crows  in  one  season. 

The  crow  destroys  the  nests  and  young  of  all  birds, 
including  wild  turkeys,  and  the  evidence  against  him  is 
conclusive.  The  reader  who  wishes  to  pursue  the  sub- 
ject will  find  it  fully  discussed  in  an  article  on  the  crow 
in  The  Amateur  Sportsman  for  March,  1910,  where  the 
picture  here  reproduced  and  some  others  were  first  pub- 
lished.* 

Various  methods  are  used  to  control  the  crows.  They 
can  be  decoyed  by  the  use  of  crow  calls  and  shot,  and 
some  keepers  are  very  expert  in  imitating  their  cawing 
without  the  aid  of  an  artificial  call.  I  saw  the  keeper  on 
a  North  Carolina  preserve  call  crows  from  a  great  dis- 
tance and  shoot  them  from  his  ambush  behind  a  little 
cedar  tree. 

They  are  attracted  by  a  stuffed  owl,  "the  bugaboo"  of 
birds,  placed  on  a  pole  or  tree,  and  an  owl  especially 
made  for  this  purpose,  which  flaps  its  wings  and  turns 
its  head  when  a  string  is  pulled,  proves  very  deadly  to  all 
feathered  enemies  of  game,  provided  the  gunner  be  a 
good  shot  and  well  concealed.  These  decoy  owls  can  be 
purchased  from  Von  Lengerke  &  Detmold,  of  Fifth 
Avenue,  New  York,  and  the  price  is  $25. 

Mr.  Thompson  says:  "Crows  are  very  destructive  to 
the  eggs  and  young  of  almost  every  species  of  game,  and 
constant  war  must  be  waged  all  the  year  around  if  the 
game  is  to  be  saved.  Crows  are  especially  fond  of  young 
ducklings,  and  where  these  are  raised  on  the  farm  means 
for  their  protection  must  be  devised.  The  best  method  of 

*The  photographs  which  are  copyrighted  were  sent  by  Mr.  Anson  O. 
Howard  of  Massachusetts. 


DECOY    OWL 
Photograph  by  Justus  Von  Lengerke 


WINGED  ENEMIES  OF  WILD  FOWL        83 

protection  is  to  kill  the  crows.  There  are  many  methods 
of  doing  this.  Poisoned  entrails  and  poisoned  eggs  can  be 
used  to  advantage,  where  this  is  lawful,  and  trapping  can 
be  done  to  baits  as  described  for  hawks.  Trapping  in  the 
snow  by  means  of  blood  spilled  on  the  snow  and  a  steel 
trap  placed  nearby,  destroying  the  nests  in  the  breeding 
season,  waiting  for  the  crows  with  shotguns  as  they 
come  in  to  roost,  all  are  effective  methods  of  destruction. 
The  watchword  when  crows  are  about  is,  keep  killing 
them,  especially  where  the  flocks  run  up  into  the  thou- 
sands."1 

The  crow  does  a  good  part  of  his  nefarious  work  very 
early  in  the  morning,  when  he  seems  to  know  that  peo- 
ple are  abed.  His  hunt  at  such  times  is  a  still  hunt,  and 
he  comes  close  to  buildings  where  he  would  not  venture 
later  in  the  day.2  Mr.  Judd  describes  a  crow  which  came 
daily  into  a  barnyard  and  sat  on  a  fence,  evidently  wait- 
ing until  a  hen  had  laid  an  egg,  when  at  once  he  made  off 
with  it.3 

The  Hawks. — It  is  admitted  that  there  are  good  and 
bad  hawks,  but  'even  some  of  the  good  ones  will  require 
watching,  since  they  readily  acquire  a  fondness  for  game 
and  eggs  when  they  are  abundant  and  easily  obtained. 
The  worst  enemy  of  the  ducks  among  the  hawks  is  un- 
doubtedly the  Peregrine  falcon,  or  duck  hawk.  This 
bird,  like  some  other  hawks,  seems  to  hunt  for  pleasure 
and  often  kills  more  ducks  than  it  can  eat. 

I  have  shot  them  on  many  marshes  where  they  were 
thus  engaged.  Upon  one  occasion  Mr.  George  Shiras,  3d, 
went  with  me  to  the  preserve  of  the  Ottawa  Club,  near 


1  The  Amateur   Sportsman,   June,   1910.     2  Ib.  March,   1910.     3  Bulletin, 
"Birds  of  a  Maryland  Farm."    U.  S.  Dept.  Agr. 


84        WINGED  ENEMIES  OF  WILD  FOWL 

Sandusky,  Ohio,  before  the  season  opened,  to  make  some 
photographs  of  wild  ducks.  He  had  placed  a  number  of 
wooden  decoys  before  his  blind  when  a  hawk  struck  one 
of  them  and  carried  it  some  distance  from  the  water.  Mr. 
Shiras  had  two  cameras  and  secured  a  picture  of  the 
hawk  as  it  struck.  He  tried  for  another  picture  as  the 
bird  soared  aloft  carrying  the  decoy,  with  its  weight 
hanging  down,  but  his  aim  was  bad,  and  the  hawk  did 
not  appear  on  the  plate. 

When  I  examined  the  decoy  I  observed  that  the  hawk's 
talons  had  been  sunk  deeply  into  the  wood. 

The  hawks  can  be  controlled  by  shooting  them  from 
ambush,  and  many  can  be  killed  by  steel  traps  placed  on 
poles.  On  some  preserves  very  small  poles  are  used,  and 
these  are  stood  in  pieces  of  drain  tile  inserted  in  the 
ground.  The  pole  when  so  arranged  easily  can  be  taken 
down  to  set  the  trap.  One  preserver  informed  me  that  he 
stood  his  poles  up  against  the  fences. 

On  one  occasion,  on  a  Western  marsh,  a  hawk  was  ob- 
served to  follow  a  flock  of  teal  and  strike  down  three  of 
them  in  succession.  He  was  hunting  wantonly  and  flew 
away  without  stopping  to  eat  one  of  the  ducks. 

When  ducks  are  breeding  wild  in  the  marshes  they  are 
comparatively  secure  from  many  dangerous  hawks  which 
are  not  often  seen  in  such  places,  but  when  the  ducks  are 
reared  on  farms  the  hawks  which  are  injurious  to  poul- 
try must  be  controlled.  The  worst  hawks  undoubtedly 
are  the  Goshawk,  Cooper's  hawk  and  Sharp  Shinned 
hawk,  but  the  hawks  which  are  regarded  as  more  bene- 
ficial than  harmful  should  be  observed,  and  when  they 
gather  in  large  numbers  or  when  a  single  hawk  persists 
in  taking  many  young  ducks  it  should  be  destroyed,  of 


WINGED  ENEMIES  OF  WILD  FOWL        85 

course,    if    the    owner    of    the    place    prefers    ducks    to 
hawks.1 

Dr.  Field,  chairman  of  the  Massachusetts  Commission 
of  Fisheries  and  Game,  says  that  the  marsh  hawk  is  very 
destructive  to  the  grouse  on  Martha's  Vineyard. 

The  reader  will  find  the  hawks  discussed  at  length  in 
a  bulletin  issued  by  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture,2  but  in  reading  it  he  should  remember  that 
the  conclusions  stated  are  founded  largely  upon  stomach 
examinations  and  that  such  evidence  is  not  always  re- 
liable. Since  game  is  everywhere  very  scarce  no  doubt 
many  of  the  specimens  examined  had  no  chance  to  eat 
game,  and  it  does  not  follow  that  any  of  the  hawks  would 
not  take  young  ducks  or  other  game  in  places  where  the 
game  was  abundant.  The  safe  rule  is  to  observe  what 
the  hawks  are  doing  on  the  rearing  field  and  to  act  ac- 
cordingly. 

Gulls. — Some  gulls  undoubtedly  take  eggs  and  young 
ducks,  but  all  gulls,  even  in  the  same  flock,  it  is  claimed, 
are  not  equally  bad.  A  gamekeeper  on  an  English  pre- 
serve, who  observed  that  gulls  were  destroying  his  ducks, 
killed  the  pair  which  were  thus  engaged,  and  he  is  re- 
ported to  have  said  that  the  other  gulls  did  no  harm 
thereafter. 

The  Rev.  H.  A.  Macpherson  says  some  gulls  are  very 
destructive  to  grouse  as  well  as  to  ducks.  "The  lesser 
black-backed  gull,"  he  says,  "is  a  shameless  gourmand 
and  does  a  great  amount  of  mischief.  He  likes  the  young 


1  The  marsh  hawk  is  classed  as  a  beneficial  hawk  by  ornithologists, 
but  I  shot  one  which  had  a  quail  in  its  talons  as  it  flew  overhead,  and 
Audubon  says  when  impelled  by  hunger  it  will  attack  partridges,  plov- 
ers and  teal.  It  should  be  killed  only  when  it  appears  to  be  preying  on 
game.  2  "Hawks  and  Owls."  Bulletin,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr. 


86        WINGED  ENEMIES  OF  WILD  FOWL 

wild  ducks  better  than  the  tiny  grouse,  but  nothing  seems 
to  come  amiss  to  his  hungry  maw.  It  occasionally  hap- 
pens that  an  old  herring  gull  takes  to  felonious  practices. 
They  suck  poisoned  eggs  eagerly,  and  I  have  seen  indi- 
vidual birds  beating  the  hill  day  after  day  searching  for 
grouse  nests.  I  have  also  known  the  herring  gull  to 
carry  off  young  chickens  from  a  cottage  door."* 

The  Owls. — The  great  horned  owl  and  the  snowy 
owl  are  the  enemies  of  game  birds  and  poultry,  and 
where  ducks  are  reared  near  woods  they  no  doubt  would 
take  some  of  them.  The  owls  are  not  abundant,  however, 
in  most  places,  and  the  game  preserver  has  little  to  fear 
on  their  account.  They  are  interesting  birds,  and  I  would 
hesitate  to  destroy  them  unless  it  clearly  appeared  that 
they  were  doing  much  harm.  The  only  owl  which  visited 
me  when  I  made  my  experiments  with  wild  ducks  was 
the  little  screech  owl,  and  I  had  no  losses  due  to  owls. 

John  Burroughs  calls  the  owl  the  bugaboo  of  birds, 
and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  creates  a  great  dis- 
turbance whenever  he  appears.  The  reader  will  find  the 
merits  and  demerits  of  owls  fully  discussed  in  the  bul- 
letin on  "Hawks  and  Owls"  issued  by  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  but,  since  some  of  the  speci- 
mens were  taken  in  places  where  there  was  no  game  for 
them  to.  eat,  the  evidence,  which  was  based  on  stomach 
examinations,  is  not  conclusive,  as  I  have  suggested. 
Mr.  Forbush,  also,  has  well  said  such  examinations  repre- 
sent only  one  meal. 

English  Sparrows. — The  sparrows  are  a  nuisance  on 
the  game  preserve,  since  when  they  are  abundant  they 

*"The  Grouse."  By  H.  A.  Macpherson  and  others.  Longmans,  Green 
&  Co. 


GOOD    BAG   OF    CROWS    SHOT    OVER    A   DECOY    OWL 
Photograph  by  Justus  Vou  Lengerke 


WINGED  ENEMIES  OF  WILD  FOWL        87 

devour  much  food  which  is  intended  for  the  game.  They 
have  been  known  to  destroy  the  eggs  of  wild  ducks,  and 
they  undoubtedly  drive  many  desirable  small  birds  away. 
They  easily  can  be  shot  and  trapped,  and  their  nests 
should  be  destroyed  as  soon  as  made. 

The  Magpie. — The  magpie  in  the  West  and  in  parts  of 
British  America  is  an  enemy  of  game  which  should  be 
controlled  closely.  One  of  my  correspondents  writes 
that  in  Washington  (State)  he  has  known  the  magpie 
to  destroy  the  nests  of  the  prairie  grouse.  I  have  had 
other  reports  about  the  damage  done  by  these  birds  in 
the  West  and  in  some  of  the  Canadian  Provinces. 

The  heron  is  said  to  destioy  young  ducks  in  England, 
but  I  have  no  reports  about  this  bird  in  America.  When 
visiting  a  duck  preserve  in  New  Jersey  I  heard  a  shot 
fired  and  saw  the  gunner  across  the  pond.  I  asked  the 
gamekeeper  what  was  shot,  and  he  said  it  was  a  crane, 
and  added  that  its  mate  had  killed  several  ducks  and  was 
in  the  act  of  killing  one  when  he  shot  it.  I  regret  that  I 
did  not  see  the  bird,  since  the  crane  is  a  rare  visitor  in 
New  Jersey.  Probably  it  was  a  heron. 

The  Jay. — This  bird,  as  I  have  observed,  is  beneficial  to 
gamekeepers.  It  undoubtedly  is  an  egg  stealer,  but 
probably  it  takes  the  eggs  of  small  birds  for  the  most 
part.  Jays  should  not  be  permitted  to  become  over- 
abundant, since  it  is  desirable  to  preserve  the  smaller 
song  and  insectivorous  birds  on  the  farms  included  in  a 
preserve,  as  elsewhere. 


XII 

THE  GROUND  AND  WATER  ENEMIES  OF  WILD 

FOWL 

'T'HE  principal  ground  enemies  of  game  birds  are: 
^  Foxes,  wolves,  minks,  weasels,  skunks,  raccoons, 
squirrels,  snakes  and  moles.  In  settled  regions  roving 
dogs,  cats  and  rats  are  added  to  the  list,  and  these  become 
often  the  worst  enemies  of  wild  fowl. 

In  addition  to  the  enemies  named,  frogs,  turtles  and 
certain  fish  also  are  known  to  take  young  ducks. 

Mr.  Robert  B.  Lawrence  told  me  that  a  frog  in  his 
brother's  duck  pond  was  killed  which  had  devoured  a 
young  sprig-tailed  duck,  and  since  many  young  wood- 
duck  had  disappeared,  unaccountably,  he  believed  the 
frogs  had  eaten  them.  A  correspondent  of  The  American 
Field  confirms  the  destructive  propensities  of  the  bull- 
frog. "We  had,"  he  says,  "quite  a  number  of  tame  mal- 
lard ducks,  which  hatched  their  eggs  in  the  woods,  and 
the  first  we  saw  of  their  young  was  in  the  water  with 
their  mothers.  We  noticed  the  number  of  the  ducklings 
decreased  quite  rapidly  and  found  on  investigation  that 
when  they  got  near  the  shores,  one  after  another  were 
pulled  under  the  water  by  large  frogs,  which  drowned 
and  then  swallowed  them.  To  preserve  them,  wnenever 

88 


A    SCARE-FOX 

The  Scare-fox  has  shutters  wiucii  are  run  by  clockwork  so  as 

to  fall  every  ten  minutes,  causing  the  light  to 

flash  in  three  directions. 


GROUND  AND  WATER  ENEMIES  89 

we  saw  a  new  brood  on  the  water,  we  captured  and  kept 
them  in  the  chicken  yard  until  they  were  quite  large 
enough  to  care  for  themselves." 

Pike  also  take  young  ducks,  and  turtles,  where  they 
are  abundant,  are  a  serious  check  to  the  increase  of 
ducks. 

The  Fox. — In  places  where  foxes  are  numerous  un- 
doubtedly they  destroy  many  game  birds  as  well  as  poul- 
try. Mr.  F.  E.  R.  Fryer,  an  English  authority  on  game 
preserving,  says :  "Although  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  in 
the  long  run  it  is  best  not  to  attempt  game  preserving 
on  a  large  scale  in  a  fox-hunting  county,  just  as  I  think 
it  is  a  mistake  to  try  .to  start  a  pack  of  hounds  in  a  good 
partridge  county,  a  few  hints  as  to  the  best  way  to  pro- 
tect the  partridge  from  the  fox  may  be  of  interest  to 
some,  who,  though  all  in  favor  of  fox-hunting,  like  occa- 
sionally to  take  a  gun  out."  Mr.  Fryer  insists  that  it  is 
necessary  to  have  a  good  keeper  to  control  foxes  and  that 
he  must  know  every  nest  and  endeavor  to  prevent  them 
getting  at  it. 

The  rearing  field  for  ducks  should  be  wired,  and  traps 
for  foxes  should  be  distributed  liberally  outside  the  wire 
and  in  all  likely  places.  Dogs  on  the  preserve  are  useful 
to  keep  foxes  away,  and  where  foxes  are  numerous  they 
should  be  hunted  with  hounds  and  destroyed.  The  game- 
keeper does  not  hesitate  to  shoot  a  fox,  in  America,  but  in 
England  often  he  is  ordered  to  preserve  the  foxes,  and 
in  fox-hunting  counties  the  gamekeeper's  work  is  more 
difficult  than  it  is  in  places  where  foxes  are  controlled. 
An  abundance  of  rabbits  is  desirable,  since  foxes  are 
fond  of  them  and  find  them  easier  to  catch  than  game 
birds  are.  Owen  Jones  calls  rabbits  the  fox's  bread  and 


90  GROUND   AND   WATER   ENEMIES 

butter,  and  adds,  "It  would  be  a  sorry  prospect  for  keep- 
ers, game  and  foxes  if  rabbits  were  exterminated,  for 
they  are  the  buffers  of  peace  in  the  community  of  the 
woods." 

Wild  ducks  are  in  little,  if  any,  danger  from  foxes 
when  they  are  taken  to  the  pond,  and  a  low  wire  such  as 
is  pictured  in  the  illustrations  of  ducks  on  the  water 
seems  to  afford  protection  from  many  kinds  of  ground 
vermin.  Anything  attempting  to  get  over  the  wire  easily 
is  seen  or  heard,  and  the  ducks  can  take  wing  or  swim 
out  of  danger.  Islands  in  the  ponds  are  very  desirable, 
as  I  have  observed.  They  are  safe  refuges  for  the  ducks 
from  many  kinds  of  vermin,  including  cats. 

Wolves. — With  the  exception  of  the  coyote,  wolves  are 
unknown  in  places  where  ducks  are  preserved  or  where 
they  are  likely  to  be  preserved  before  the  wolves  are  ex- 
tirpated. I  have  seen  the  sly  coyote  hunting  ducks  about 
the  reedy  banks  of  a  Western  pond,  and  once  I  stopped 
one  just  as  he  was  about  to  pounce  on  some  young  mal- 
lards. Where  coyotes  occur  they  should  be  poisoned, 
shot,  trapped  or  otherwise  controlled,  and  the  nesting 
and  rearing  fields  of  the  ducks  should  be  wired  against 
them. 

Minks  and  Weasels. — Both  the  mink  and  the  weasel  are 
difficult  enemies  to  deal  with.  These  animals  seem  to 
hunt  wantonly,  and  they  destroy  more  than  they  can 
eat.  The  mink  has  been  known  to  kill  more  than  fifty 
fowls  in  a  night.  Winged  vermin  is  easily  seen,  and  on 
this  account  it  is  more  easily  controlled.  But  the  mink 
and  the  weasel,  like  other  furry  vermin,  are  seldom  seen, 
and  often  they  are  hard  to  exterminate.  A  good  game- 
keeper quickly  will  detect  their  presence,  and  he  should 


GROUND   AND   WATER  ENEMIES          91 

know  how  to  trap  them.  They  are  taken  with  common 
steel  traps.  Minks  can  be  hunted  with  a  good  dog,  and  I 
read  an  account  not  long  ago  of  a  Western  hunter  who 
found  them  in  the  sloughs  with  the  aid  of  a  halfbreed 
pointer  trained  to  hunt  them. 

The  Raccoon. — Mr.  S.  Evans,  the  father  of  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  Wallace  Evans  Game  Farm,  told  me  that 
the  "coons"  were  sometimes  a  pest.  They  succeeded  in 
destroying  young  ducks  on  the  game  farm  notwithstand- 
ing the  fact  that  the  place  is  heavily  trapped  and  guarded 
by  competent  keepers. 

The  Skunk. — The  naturalists  regard  the  skunk  as  a 
beneficial  animal,  and  I  doubt  much  if  it  destroys  as 
many  eggs  and  young  birds  as  some  people  think  it  does. 
There  can  be  no  doubt,  however,  that  sometimes  it  takes 
the  eggs  and  young  of  game  birds,  and  it  seems  likely  it 
might  develop  a  decided  taste  for  them  in  places  where 
such  food  was  abundant  and  easily  procured.  Skunks 
are  easily  trapped  and  shot,  and  a  good  gamekeeper 
should  have  little  difficulty  in  keeping  them  down  when 
they  are  observed  to  be  harmful. 

Snakes. — Both  the  rattlesnake  and  the  blacksnake  have 
been  known  to  take  quail  and  their  eggs,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  they  would  take  young  ducks.  It  is  not  a  difficult 
matter,  however,  to  keep  snakes  out  of  a  well  wired  rear- 
ing and  breeding  field,  and  easily  they  are  destroyed 
with  the  aid  of  a  terrier  in  places  where  the  cover 
is  not  too  heavy.  A  gamekeeper  once  gave  me  an  amus- 
ing account  of  the  killing  of  a  blacksnake  by  one  of  his 
terriers. 

The  Mole. — The  late  Mr.  C.  J.  Cornish,  in  Shooting, 
says :  "I  remember  a  case  in  which  a  mole  made  its  run 


92  GROUND  AND   WATER   ENEMIES 

through  the  bottom  of  a  nest  (a  very  frequent  cause  of 
mischief  where  nests  are  not  known  of  and  looked  at 
periodically).  A  good  number  of  the  eggs  had  disap- 
peared down  the  hole,  and  after  various  attempts  to  stop 
the  run  had  failed,  I  moved  the  nest  over  a  yard  away 
without  the  removal  having  any  apparent  effect  on  the 
bird"  (the  gray  partridge). 

Turtles. — Where  turtles  are  abundant  they  are  among 
the  worst  enemies  of  young  ducks.  They  are  difficult  to 
control  on  large  waters,  but  they  are  easily  removed  from 
small  waters.  Many  turtles  can  be  shot,  both  in  the  wa- 
ter and  on  the  banks,  and  they  can  be  captured  in  various 
ways  with  nets  and  baits.  It  is  highly  important  to  ex- 
tirpate them  when  they  are  observed  to  be  feeding  on 
young  water  fowl. 

Pike  and  pickerel  are  known  to  take  small  ducks,  and 
these  fish  should  be  removed  from  the  ponds  where  the 
young  ducks  are  reared. 

The  muskrat  has  been  considered  an  enemy  of  ducks, 
but  most  sportsmen  and  naturalists  are  of  the  opinion 
that  this  interesting  animal  does  little,  if  any,  harm  on 
the  duck  preserve.  The  fact  that  ducks  often  are  seen 
swimming  about  in  places  where  muskrats  abound  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  they  are  not  alarmed  and  that  they 
do  not  regard  the  muskrats  as  their  enemies.  This  sub- 
ject was  fully  discussed  in  The  Amateur  Sportsman  for 
March,  1909.  The  evidence  there  presented  is  decidedly 
in  favor  of  the  muskrat.  The  muskrat  might  be  made 
profitable  on  some  duck  preserves. 

In  settled  regions  many  of  the  natural  enemies  of 
game,  with  the  exception  of  crows  and  certain  hawks, 
often  are  not  sufficiently  abundant  to  do  much  damage, 


GROUND   AND   WATER   ENEMIES          93 

and  where  they  are  few  it  does  not  seem  wise  to  destroy 
them,  excepting,  of  course,  where  they  are  observed  to 
be  doing  serious  damage.  A  mink  or  weasel  which  de- 
stroys a  large  number  of  ducks  should  be  hunted  down 
and  killed  at  any  season  of  the  year.  The  gamekeeper 
and  not  a  State  game  warden  should  decide  the  matter  on 
private  lands. 

Where  the  natural  enemies  of  game  are  few  the  do- 
mestic enemies  often  are  very  numerous  and  destructive. 
The  cats  are  noted  bird  hunters;  the  dogs  are  fond  of 
chasing  birds  and  prevent  their  nesting;  the  rats  eat  not 
only  young  birds,  but  also  the  eggs.  I  have  been  sur- 
prised, when  visiting  American  game  preserves,  to  learn 
of  the  numbers  of  cats  destroyed  by  the  gamekeepers. 
In  many  places  throughout  America  the  cats  are  suffi- 
ciently abundant,  undoubtedly,  to  prevent  the  wild  ducks 
from  nesting  and  rearing  their  young,  even  if  the  birds 
were  not  persistently  shot  by  people  living  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  ponds  and  lakes.  The  cats  seem  to  be  increasing  in 
many  places,  and  many  annually  are  turned  down  to 
shift  for  themselves,  and  quickly  they  become  wild.  They 
are  skillful  in  taking  birds. 

It  is  not  a  very  difficult  matter  for  a  gamekeeper  to 
control  the  cats,  since  they  are  easily  discovered  and  shot 
as  they  prowl  about.  They  can  be  trapped  with  steel 
traps  and  hunted  with  terriers.  I  have  seen  a  terrier 
make  short  work  of  killing  a  cat,  and  the  terriers  are 
useful  dogs  on  the  preserve,  since  they  will  destroy  other 
ground  vermin. 

Some  cats  can  be  taught  not  to  kill  birds,  and  I  have 
seen  cats  at  gamekeepers'  houses  which  walked  about 
among  the  young  pheasants  and  ducks  without  causing 


94  GROUND  AND   WATER   ENEMIES 

any  alarm.  The  gamekeeper  quickly  would  destroy  his 
cat  and  replace  it  with  another  if  it  exhibited  any 
disposition  to  eat  birds.  Good  cats  I  regard  as  ex- 
ceptional. All  the  cats  I  have  ever  owned  destroyed 
birds  daily. 

Rats  undoubtedly  are  among  the  worst  enemies  of 
ducks.  Captain  Gates  says  they  are  the  worst.1  He 
took  sixteen  wild  duck  eggs  from  one  rat  hole.  Fryer 
disposes  of  rats  in  five  words,  "Rats  must  be  cleared 
out."2 

The  common  brown  rat  was  introduced  in  America 
about  the  year  1775,  and  despite  the  incessant  warfare  of 
man,  it  has  extended  its  range  and  steadily  increased  in 
numbers.  Its  dominance  is  due  to  its  great  fecundity 
and  its  ability  to  adapt  itself  to  all  sorts  of  conditions. 
A  compilation  of  all  the  methods  of  destroying  rats  prac- 
ticed in  historic  times  would  fill  a  volume.  One  of  the 
most  effective  poisons  for  rats  is  barium  carbonate,  or 
bayrites.3 

Mr.  Lantz,  who  prepared  the  bulletin  cited,  says  the 
improved  traps  with  a  wire  fall  released  by  a  baited  trig- 
ger and  driven  by  a  coiled  spring  (sometimes  called  guil- 
lotine traps)  have  a  marked  advantage  over  the  old 
forms,  and  many  of  them  may  be  used  at  the  same  time. 
The  traps  should  be  baited  with  small  pieces  of  Vienna 
sausage  (wienerwurst)  or  bacon. 

Mr.  Lantz,  in  a  second  bulletin  prepared  for  the  Bio- 
logical Survey,  United  States  Department  of  Agricul- 


1  "Wild  Ducks."  2  "Country  Life  Lib.  Sport,  Vol.  I.,  Shooting,  p.  135. 
3  "Methods  of  Destroying  Rats."  Farmers'  Bulletin  297,  U.  S.  Dept. 
Agr.  This  bulletin  can  be  had  upon  application  to  the  TJ.  S.  Agricul- 
tural Department,  Washington,  D.  C. 


GROUND   AND   WATER   ENEMIES          95 

ture,1  says :  "The  rat  is  a  most  serious  pest  in  game  pre- 
serves. The  propagation  of  game  birds,  both  native  and 
introduced,  is  now  a  promising  industry  in  the  United 
States.  The  rat  has  already  proved  itself  a  foe  by  de- 
stroying both  eggs  and  young  of  pheasants.  Abroad, 
the  game  preserver  regards  the  rat  as  the  worst  enemy 
of  game.  A  writer  in  Chambers'  Journal  says,  'In  a 
closely  preserved  country  at  the  end  of  an  average  year 
the  game  suffers  more  from  the  outlying  rats  of  the  lord- 
ship than  from  the  foxes  and  the  mustelines  together. 
The  solitary  rats,  whether  males  or  females,  are  the  curse 
of  a  game  country.  They  are  most  difficult  to  detect,  for 
in  a  majority  of  cases  their  special  work  is  supposed  to 
be  done  by  hedgehog,  weasels  or  stoats."2 

The  late  Mr.  William  Carnegie  ("Moorman"),  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  sporting  writers,  who  at  the  time 
of  his  death  was  the  English  correspondent  of  The  Ama- 
teur Sportsman,  says  in  his  work  on  "Game  Preserving:" 
"There  is  little  doubt  that  of  late  years  the  worst  vermin 
with  which  the  generality  of  preservers  have  had  to  con- 
tend has  been  the  rat.  It  has  increased  largely  in  num- 
bers and  in  some  districts  become  quite  a  plague,  despite 
the  extraordinary  efforts  made  to  deal  with  its  ever- 
increasing  depredations.  It  is  unnecessary  to  speculate 
upon  the  probable  cause  of  this  remarkable  increase.  It 
is  due  entirely  to  the  neglect  of  farmers,  preservers  and 
others  to  adopt  adequate  means  to  deal  with  the  pest."* 

Mr.  Lantz  says  our  native  game  birds  in  the  wild  state 
are  less  subject  to  rat  depredations  than  imported  species. 


1  "The  Brown  Rat  in  the  United  States."  By  David  B.  Lanty.  Bul- 
letin 33,  Biological  Survey,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  2  Chambers'  Journal,  Vol. 
82,  p.  64,  January,  1905. 

*"Practical  Game  Preserving."    By  William  Carnegie,  p.  349. 


96  GROUND   AND   WATER   ENEMIES 

The  nests  of  ruffed  grouse  are  made  in  the  woodlands, 
which  rats  seldom  invade.  The  prairie  hen  and  related 
species  generally  nest  in  places  remote  from  the  usual 
haunts  of  rats.  The  quail,  or  Bob  White,  however,  often 
selects  a  nesting  site  within  the  Summer  range  of  rats, 
and  many  a  quail's  egg  reaches  the  maws  of  these  ani- 
mals. Nests  of  wild  ducks,  woodcock  and  other  marsh 
birds  are  frequently  destroyed  by  rats. 

Ferrets  and  dogs  are  very  useful  in  controlling  them. 
Mr.  J.  C.  O'Conor  informed  me  that  they  were  overrun 
with  rats  at  a  preserve  in  which  he  is  interested,  in  Vir- 
ginia, but  that  they  succeeded  in  controlling  them  by  the 
use  of  terriers  and  traps. 

Roving  dogs  alarm  the  nesting  birds  and  often  chase 
and  kill  them.  Some  dogs  are  fond  of  eggs.  Ducks  can- 
not be  expected  to  nest  in  a  place  where  they  are  annoyed 
by  dogs.  It  is  not  a  difficult  matter  to  shoot  a  worthless 
dog  when  he  visits  a  preserve,  but  valuable  dogs  should, 
of  course,  be  caught  and  held  for  their  owners. 

One  of  the  worst  fish  enemies  of  ducks  is  the  carp, 
not  because  it  destroys  the  birds,  but  because  it  destroys 
their  food — the  wild  rice  and  other  aquatic  plants.  On  the 
marshes  owned  by  the  Winous  Point  Club  and  by  the 
Ottawa  Club,  near  Port  Clinton,  Ohio,  and  in  many  other 
places,  the  carp  have  practically  destroyed  the  wild  rice 
which  a  few  years  ago  furnished  an  abundance  of  food 
for  countless  numbers  of  wild  fowl.  The  number  of 
ducks  which  nest  in  these  marshes  or  which  visit  them 
on  their  migration  has  been  sadly  decreased. 

The  carp  destroy  the  plants  by  rooting  them  up,  and 
in  some  places  the  ducks  have  been  forced  to  abandon 
the  waters  where  the  carp  have  become  abundant. 


XIII 

AMERICAN  DUCK  CLUBS 

TVTEARLY  all  of  the  best  marshes  and  the  desirable 
•*•  ^  lands  about  the  ponds  and  lakes  in  the  United 
States  which  are  frequented  by  wild  fowl  during  their 
migrations  now  are  owned  or  leased  by  individuals  and 
clubs. 

The  best  shooting  points  about  the  Chesapeake  Bay 
and  on  the  outlying  beaches  also  are  controlled  in  the 
same  way,  and  the  number  of  duck  clubs  is  increasing 
rapidly.  For  a  time  the  shares  in  these  clubs  became 
more  and  more  valuable  as  the  years  passed,  until  shares 
which  cost  a  few  hundred  dollars  or  less  when  they  were 
issued  easily  were  sold  for  from  $1,000  to  $5,000  and  per- 
haps more.  The  diminution  of  the  flight,  due  to  the  de- 
crease in  the  numbers  of  the  ducks,  has  caused  a  decline 
in  the  value  of  the  shares  in  some  of  the  duck  clubs,  and 
in  some  instances  the  decline  in  value  has  been  rapid. 

The  marshes  about  the  great  lakes  in  the  United  States 
and  Canada  are  owned  and  controlled  by  many  clubs. 
The  center  of  abundance  of  these  clubs  is  from  Sandusky 
Westward  and  around  the  Western  end  of  Lake  Erie  to 
the  St.  Clair  Flats,  where  there  are  excellent  duck  clubs, 
both  in  the  United  States  and  in  Canada, 

97 


98  AMERICAN  DUCK  CLUBS 

The  ducks  were  so  abundant  a  few  years  ago  that  no 
effort  was  made  to  increase  their  numbers  or  to  control 
their  natural  enemies.  The  shooting  was  kept  up  late  in 
the  Spring,  after  the  ducks  had  mated  and  when  many 
of  them  would  have  remained  to  nest,  undoubtedly,  had 
they  been  given  a  chance  to  do  so.  As  long  as  the  ducks 
were  abundant  the  necessity  for  looking  after  them  and 
increasing  their  numbers  did  not  occur  to  anyone. 

There  are  many  small  ponds  on  these  club  grounds 
which  have  desirable  fields  adjacent  where  the  artificial 
rearing  of  ducks  could  be  carried  on  to  great  advantage. 
Thousands  of  ducks  could  be  produced  every  Spring  at 
a  very  small  expense,  since  they  could  be  liberated  when 
a  few  weeks  old,  and  they  would  find  most  of  their  food 
in  the  marshes.  The  vanishing  wood-duck,  the  teal  and 
other  fowl  could  be  made  to  provide  excellent  shooting 
by  the  end  of  August  and  long  before  any  migratory 
birds  arrive  from  the  North. 

At  the  time  of  my  visit  to  the  Lake  Erie  group  of  clubs 
I  observed  that  some  of  the  natural  enemies  of  the  game 
were  abundant.  Hawks  were  often  seen  in  the  air,  and 
on  one  occasion  a  hawk  alighted  on  the  head  of  a  punter 
who  sat  motionless  in  the  grass,  the  bird  mistaking  his 
old  gray  hat  for  a  stump,  no  doubt.  There  were  many 
rattlesnakes  on  the  preserves  of  the  Ottawa  and  Winous 
Point  Clubs,  and  one  of  them  crawled  up  on  a  log  where 
I  was  seated  sketching  one  day  and  coiled  itself  up  be- 
side me.  I  was  somewhat  alarmed  when  I  discovered  it, 
but  easily  killed  it. 

The  unfortunate  introduction  of  the  carp  has  destroyed 
miles  of  splendid  food — the  wild  rice — and  Mr.  Chamber- 
lain, the  Secretary  of  the  Ottawa  Club,  recently  wrote  me 


BLUEBILL  SHOT  AND  PHOTOGRAPHED  BY  BONNYCASTLE 

DALE 


AMERICAN  DUCK  CLUBS  99 

that  they  were  now  feeding  tons  of  grain  in  the  effort  to 
induce  the  ducks  to  remain  during  the  shooting  season. 
It  should  not  be  a  very  difficult  matter  to  wire  some  of 
the  desirable  ponds  against  the  carp  and  to  destroy  all 
of  those  within  the  protected  territory,  when  the  wild  rice 
could  be  restored,  and  soon  it  would  grow  as  luxuri- 
antly as  it  formerly  did. 

There  are  many  duck  clubs  in  the  vicinity  of  Chicago 
and  Northward  at  Fox  Lake  and  other  desirable  places. 
The  whole  vast  region  along  the  Illinois  River  in  the 
vicinity  of  Peoria  and  Havana  is  occupied,  and  there  are 
hundreds  of  clubs  about  the  marshy  lakes  of  the  Western 
and  North  Western  States.  On  the  Pacific  coast  the 
duck  clubs  already  are  numerous  in  Oregon  and  Wash- 
ington and  abundant  in  California  from  the  vicinity  of 
Sacramento  South  to  Los  Angeles,  where  there  are  lit- 
erally miles  of  clubs. 

There  are  a  few  clubs  about  the  great  reservoirs  in 
Ohio,  and  there  are  many  clubs  in  New  England,  es- 
pecially in  Massachusetts. 

Along  the  Atlantic  coast  there  are  many  insular  clubs, 
which  own  for  the  most  part  the  islands  where  their  club 
houses  are  erected. 

The  Princess  Anne,  the  Ragged  Island  and  the  Back 
Bay  Clubs,  a  short  distance  from  Norfolk,  Virginia,  mark 
the  beginning  of  a  long  line  of  clubs  (most  of  which  have 
fine  club  houses),  which  extends  Southward  through 
Currituck  Sound  to  the  waters  of  the  Albemarle  and 
Pamlico.  Many  men  act  as  guards  to  keep  out  poachers. 

To  the  Southward  there  are  many  more  clubs,  notably 
those  about  the  mouth  of  the  Santee,  in  South  Carolina, 
and  the  number  is  increasing. 


100  AMERICAN  DUCK  CLUBS 

The  amount  of  money  invested  in  lands,  buildings  and 
boats,  including  power  launches  and  yachts,  is  tremen- 
dous, and  the  many  thousands  of  gunners  who  own 
shares  in  these  clubs  should  take  notice  of  the  fact  that 
the  wild  fowl  must  decrease  in  numbers  when  their 
Northern  nesting  grounds  are  destroyed  and  that  it  seems 
certain  that  the  ducks  will  visit  the  club  marshes  in  much 
smaller  numbers  than  they  now  do,  provided  the  shoot- 
ing continues  to  increase  and  nothing  be  done  to  cause 
an  increase  in  the  numbers  of  the  game. 

All  of  these  club  men,  whose  properties  are  situated 
to  the  Eastward  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  should 
take  an  interest,  as  I  have  said,  in  the  "wild  ducks' 
paradise,"  and  they  should  endeavor  to  so  arrange  mat- 
ters that  the  Northern  breeding  grounds  be  not  all  de- 
stroyed. 

Some  vast  parks,  containing  miles  of  sloughs  and 
ponds,  should  be  set  aside  as  duck  refuges  in  "the  ducks' 
paradise,"  just  as  the  parks  and  big  game  refuges  have 
been  created  for  the  deer  and  elk  in  the  Western  States. 
I  believe  this  matter  can  be  arranged  easily  and  that  it 
will  be  before  long.  I  suggested  the  setting  aside  of 
some  refuges  for  ducks  (in  "Our  Feathered  Game"),  and 
some  of  the  places  I  named  have  since  been  made  national 
bird  parks.*  But  this  is  not  enough.  The  inhabitants  of 
"the  wild  ducks'  paradise"  should  be  taught  that  it  will 
pay  not  to  drain  many  of  the  sloughs  and  ponds  and  that 
they  can  be  profitably  used  as  breeding  places  for  the 
ducks.  The  people  should  be  encouraged  to  properly 
look  after  the  wild  fowl  on  these  famous  breeding 


*Stump  Lake,  N.  Dak.,  is  one  of  the  most  important  wild  duck  refuges. 
See  Our  Feathered  Game,  p.  33. 


AMERICAN  DUCK  CLUBS  101 

grounds  and  to  sell  them  alive  for  propagation  and  as 
food  in  the  markets. 

The  duck  clubs  must  learn,  also,  that  they  should 
create  as  well  as  destroy  on  their  own  marshes  and  that 
it  is  necessary  to  create  before  an  army  of  guns  can 
safely  shoot  any  species  of  game  in  large  numbers. 

The  employment  of  a  few  skilled  gamekeepers,  or  even 
of  natives  living  in  the  vicinity  who  know  the  habits  of 
the  furry  and  winged  enemies  of  game  and  how  to  trap 
and  shoot  them,  would  be  followed  by  a  decided  increase 
in  the  numbers  of  the  game.  This  is  especially  true  pro- 
vided the  shooting  be  discontinued  at  the  end  of  Feb- 
ruary or  early  in  March  and  even  before  those  dates  on 
certain  ponds  which  should  be  set  aside  for  breeding 
places. 

It  would  be  interesting  and  profitable  also,  at  the 
Northern  clubs  at  least,  to  undertake  the  hand-rearing 
of  fowl  on  a  large  scale,  and  some  species — the  wood- 
duck,  the  Florida  dusky  duck,  the  mallard,  the  blue- 
winged  teal  and  some  others — could  be  propagated,  no 
doubt,  in  large  numbers  in  the  South.  I  have  seen  the 
mallard  breeding  in  the  care  of  a  gamekeeper  as  far  South 
as  North  Carolina. 

The  duck  clubs  which  may  undertake  to  increase  the 
ducks  (I  am  pleased  to  observe  that  some  recently  have 
done  so)  should  be  encouraged  by  legislation,  as  I  have 
often  pointed  out.  They  should  be  classed  as  breeders 
and  permitted  to  regulate  their  shooting  during  a  long 
open  season,  without  State  interference,  and  they  should 
be  permitted  to  sell  some  of  the  game  alive  for  propaga- 
tion or  as  food  in  the  markets,  under  State  regulation  and 
to  licensed  dealers,  of  course. 


102  AMERICAN  DUCK  CLUBS 

In  some  places,  notably  in  Illinois  and  California,  a 
prejudice  has  existed  against  the  owners  of  duck  marshes. 
Those  who  have  not  secured  ducking  grounds  often  look 
with  envious  eyes  upon  those  who  are  more  fortunate. 
In  the  States  named  there  has  been  much  ill  feeling  in 
certain  localities,  and  near  Chicago  some  years  ago  this 
resulted  in  rioting  and  bloodshed  on  the  grounds  of  the 
Tolleston  Club.  The  marshes  which  were  a  bone  of  con- 
tention since  have  been  drained  and  built  up,  and,  of 
course,  there  is  no  shooting  for  anybody.  Those  who 
are  hostile  to  the  duck  clubs  should  remember  that  the 
chances  are  that  the  grounds  occupied  by  the  clubs  will 
be  drained  before  they  are  opened  to  the  public. 

Common  sense  must  regulate  this  matter  eventually, 
and  I  am  pleased  to  observe  that  the  prejudice  against 
those  who  preserve  the  ducks  has  disappeared  in  many 
regions.  The  courts  have  held,  uniformly,  that  the  own- 
ers of  marshes  have  the  right  to  exclude  trespassers. 

In  some  of  the  States  ponds  which  contain  over  ten  or 
fifteen  acres  are  held  to  be  public  waters,  but  they  are  of 
little  value  to  the  public  for  duck  shooting,  since  the 
whole  neighborhood  would  rise  up  in  arms  if  a  duck  ven- 
tured to  alight  on  a  public  pond  in  a  settled  region.  It 
is,  of  course,  an  easy  matter  to  scare  wild  fowl  away  from 
such  places.  It  would  be  far  better  if  the  game  protec- 
tive associations  would  devise  some  means  for  stocking 
such  places  with  fowl  and  for  regulating  the  public  shoot- 
ing so  as  not  to  drive  the  birds  away.  The  lands  about 
most  of  the  ponds,  however,  are  owned  by  individuals 
and  not  by  the  State,  and  in  no  State  can  trespassers 
shoot  on  inclosed  and  cultivated  lands  if  the  owner  ob- 
jects. 


AMERICAN  DUCK  CLUBS  103 

x 

It  is  nonsense  to  say  that  the  trespass  laws  should  not 
be  enforced  or  that  they  should  be  repealed.  The  owners 
of  farms  and  cattle  ranches  in  the  West  have  the  right  to 
prevent  the  introduction  of  buffalo  as  "State"  game. 
The  farmers  have  prevented  the  introduction  of  "State" 
pheasants  in  some  places,  and  the  owners  of  duck  lands 
prevent  trespass. 

The  State  can  provide  public  parks  for  public  shoot- 
ing, but,  as  I  have  insisted  often,  it  cannot  license  gun- 
ners to  shoot  up  the  farms  or  other  lands  owned  by  indi- 
viduals who  object  to  trespassers. 

The  duck  clubs  can  do  much  to  overcome  the  foolish 
prejudice  which  exists  against  them  in  some  localities  if 
they  will  become  breeders  of  wild  fowl  and  will  purchase 
stock  birds  and  eggs  and  undertake  the  artificial  produc- 
tion of  game  of  all  sorts.  If  they  will  sell  some  of  the 
game  produced,  so  that  the  markets  are  fully  supplied 
with  game  during  a  long  open  season,  the  people  soon 
will  uphold  them,  since  they  will  appear  to  be  beneficial 
to  others  besides  themselves.  Shooters  who  do  nothing 
towards  breeding  game  soon  will  find  the  shooting  on 
public  waters  much  improved,  and  all  controversy 
should  come  to  an  end. 

Mr.  Frank  Bonnett  in  a  series  of  articles  written  for 
The  Amateur  Sportsman  on  "English  Game  Preserving," 
described  the  formation  of  a  shooting  club,  or  a  syndicate, 
at  they  say  in  England,  and  gave  the  figures,  showing 
that  it  does  not  cost  much  to  have  good  shooting  in  Eng- 
land, where  lands  and  shooting  rentals  are  many  times 
higher  than  they  are  in  America. 

I  know  some  sportsmen  who  have  fairly  good  shoot- 
ing in  America  at  a  cost  of  from  $15  to  $25  per  gun,  and 


104  AMERICAN  DUCK  CLUBS 

they  always  will,  unless  those  who  are  opposed  to  field 
sports  succeed  in  prohibiting  shooting  at  all  times. 

There  are  many  places  in  America  where  wild  ducks 
can  be  introduced  and  made  plentiful,  and  any  persons 
who  wish  to  have  good  shooting  can  do  so  at  small  ex- 
pense. The  time  has  come  to  cease  making  new  game 
laws  in  the  hope  of  improving  the  sporting  conditions 
and  to  do  something  towards  restoring  the  game  to  the 
places  where  it  no  longer  occurs. 


XIV 

TO  FORM  A  DUCK  CLUB,  OR  SYNDICATE 

HT'HE  necessity  for  the  employment  of  a  gamekeeper 
•^  when  the  restoration,  propagation  and  practical 
protection  of  wild  fowl  is  undertaken  in  populous  regions 
is  evident.  The  most  expensive  items  incident  to  the 
rearing  of  wild  ducks  for  sport  are  the  wages  of  the 
gamekeeper  and  the  food  for  the  ducks.  The  shooting 
rental  is  a  small  item,  comparatively,  in  America,  since 
ground  suitable  for  duck  rearing  can  be  rented  for  shoot- 
ing purposes  for  a  few  cents  per  acre.* 

When  a  farmer,  or  a  sportsman  residing  in  the  country, 
undertakes  to  rear  wild  ducks  and  looks  after  them  per- 
sonally, very  good  sport  can  be  had  at  little  or  no  ex- 
pense, because  the  sale  of  some  of  the  ducks  and  eggs 
will  pay  the  food  bill,  and,  of  course,  there  is  no  rent.1 


*The  rentals  paid  for  many  upland  preserves  are  from  5  to  10  cents 
per  acre,  or  from  ?32  to  $64  per  square  mile,  per  annum.  Lands  suitable 
for  ducks  which  are  only  worth  a  few  dollars  per  acre  should  be  rented 
for  less  than  the  amounts  n;  Tied. 

1  Captain  Oates  says:  "I  am  of  the  opinion  that,  provided  a  man  feeds 
and  looks  after  his  ducks  himself,  is  in  possession  of  a  supply  of  coops 
and  runs,  and  is  fortunate  enough  to  have  a  suitable  piece  of  water  of 
his  own,  as  well  as  a  lot  of  ground  to  rear  them  on,  that  he  can  make 
his  accounts  balance  at  the  end  of  the  year.  In  other  words,  he  will  be 
able  to  give  his  friends  some  very  enjoyable  shooting,  and  supply  him- 
self with  a  hobby  of  which  he  will  never  be  tired  at  no  expense  to  him- 
self." "Wild  Ducks."  By  Captain  W.  Coape  Oates.  This  valuable  little 

106 


106  TO  FORM  A  DUCK  CLUB,  OR  SYNDICATE 

The  game  farmers  who  rear  large  numbers  of  wild 
ducks  and  other  game  birds  and  sell  the  birds  and  eggs 
to  game  preservers  find  the  industry  profitable,  but  an 
individual  shoot,  where  a  sportsman  pays  all  of  the  ex- 
penses, including  the  salaries  of  gamekeepers,  is  too 
costly  for  the  average  gun,  and  for  this  reason  clubs,  or 
syndicates,  as  they  are  called  in  England,  are  formed  in 
order  that  the  members  may  have  good  shooting  and 
divide  the  expenses. 

It  is  advantageous  to  have  the  cost  of  the  shares  and 
the  annual  dues  small,  so  that  desirable  members  of  small 
means  can  be  secured  and  practical  game  preserving  can 
be  made  popular. 

The  cost  of  conducting  a  duck  shoot  varies  according 
to  the  location,  and  it  would  be  impossible  to  give  an  es- 
timate of  the  expenses  which  would  be  found  accurate 
everywhere. 

The  best  gamekeepers  in  America  receive  about  $75  per 
month  and  their  house  rent,  which  may  be  estimated 
roughly  at  $200  to  $300  per  year.  The  cost  of  the  food 
for  the  ducks  depends  much  upon  the  place  selected,  since 
grain  is  cheaper  in  some  localities  than  it  is  in  others. 
The  cost  of  the  food  can  be  much  reduced  when  the  grain 
is  raised  on  the  preserve. 

A  New  York  syndicate  will  propagate  both  wild  ducks 
and  upland  game  next  season,  and  an  accurate  estimate 
of  its  receipts  and  a  rough  estimate  of  its  expenses  will  be 
found  in  a  note  at  the  bottom  of  the  following  page. 

book  can  be  procured  from  The  Amateur  Sportsman  Co.,  Box  22,  Grand 
Central,  New  York.     Price  $1.50. 

In  support  of  the  above  statement,  Captain  Gates  prints  some  figures 
based  on  the  rearing  of  250  ducks.  The  food  for  the  ducklings  Is  esti- 
mated at  £16,  or  about  $80. 


I  believe  a  full  allowance  has  been  made  for  most  of 
the  expense  items  and  that  some  of  the  stock  birds  can 
be  purchased  at  a  lower  price  than  is  stated.  The  club 
may,  also,  decide  to  purchase  some  eggs  and  to  save  in 
other  ways.* 

It  is  desirable  to  have  at  least  100  or  200  shares,  in  or- 
der that  the  dues  may  be  small,  but  the  number  of  guns 
that  can  be  accommodated  depends,  of  course,  upon  the 
size  of  the  preserve.  It  is  not  a  bad  plan  to  fix  the  value 
of  the  shares  at  from  $25  to  $30  and  to  provide  that  mem- 
bers can  own  from  one  to  twenty  shares  each,  since  those 
who  can  afford  to  contribute  to  practical  game  protection 
will  take  a  number  of  shares,  and  the  amount  needed  to 
pay  the  expenses  of  the  shoot  can  be  realized  without 


RECEIPTS  FROM  SALE  OF  SHARES. 

200  Shares  at  $30  each,  $6,000. 

ESTIMATED  EXPENSES  OP  PLANT  AND  ORGANIZATION. 

Hatching  House  and  Breeding  and  Rearing  Yards,  $500; 
Extra  Wire,  $200;  Coops,  Setting  Boxes,  Tins,  $250;  Pheasant 
Pen,  $200;  Expenses  of  Securing  Leases  and  of  Organization, 
500;  Stock:  Wild  Turkeys,  $150;  Wild  Ducks,  $450;  Pheasants 
or  Hungarian  Partridges,  $300;  Quail,  $225;  Rabbits,  $45;  500 
Hens,  $180.  Total,  $3,000. 

Surplus  in  hands  of  Directors,  $3,000. 

RECEIPTS. 
Annual  Dues,  $6,000. 

OPERATING  EXPENSES  (ESTIMATED.) 

Shooting  Rent,  10,000  acres  at  8c.  per  acre,  $800;  Wages  of 
Gamekeeper,  $1,000;  Rent  Keeper's  House,  $300;  Extra  Labor, 
$1,200;  Managing  Director's  Salary  and  Expenses,  $800;  Food 
for  Birds,  $1,500.  Total,  $5,600. 

This  syndicate  hopes  to  rear  from  five  to  ten  thousand  birds 
(including  birds  breeding  wild  and  in  captivity)  the  first  year. 


108  TO  FORM  A  DUCK  CLUB,  OR  SYNDICATE 

having  too  many  guns.  The  annual  dues  should  be  from 
$25  to  $50  per  annum. 

The  syndicate  to  which  I  have  referred  was  started 
with  one  subscription  for  twenty  shares,  and  several  of 
the  members  own  from  two  to  five  shares  each.  The 
others  pay  $30  each  for  one  share  and  $30  annual  dues. 

If  the  shoot  contains  eight  or  ten  thousand  acres  and 
is  well  watered  a  hundred  members  is  not  too  many,  since 
it  is  evident  that  some  of  the  members  will  not  shoot 
much  or  often,  and  there  should  be  some  "preferred 
stockholders,"  as  a  friend  of  mine  humorously  terms 
those  who  pay  their  dues  and  do  not  shoot  at  all. 

It  is  not  a  difficult  matter  to  secure  preferred  stock- 
holders, since  men  easily  can  be  found  who  are  willing  to 
aid  in  the  restoration  and  protection  of  our  indigenous 
game  birds  provided  they  can  have  some  of  them  for  their 
tables. 

It  is  advisable  to  undertake  the  rearing  of  some  upland 
game  in  addition  to  the  wild  ducks.  Many  sportsmen 
prefer  to  shoot  over  dogs. 

Many  species  of  upland  birds  will  respond  nicely  to  the 
control  of  vermin,  and  since  the  ducks  nest  early  the 
gamekeeper  can  rear  a  lot  of  upland  birds  in  captivity 
after  his  ducks  are  well  started,  and  he  can  give  some 
attention  to  the  quail  and  other  birds  nesting  wild  on  the 
preserve.  He  will  see  that  they  are  not  destroyed  by 
their  enemies  or  by  farm  machinery. 

The  first  step  in  forming  a  game  syndicate  of  any  kind 
is  to  secure  the  signatures  of  the  required  number  of 
members  to  a  subscription  contract.  The  simple  form 
of  contract  used  by  the  New  York  Game  Breeders'  Asso- 
ciation is  as  follows : 


TO  FORM  A  DUCK  CLUB,  OR  SYNDICATE  109 

In  order  to  form  a  game  syndicate  to  rent  the  shooting  and 
propagate  game  on  lands  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York: 

We,  the  undersigned,  subscribe  for  the  number  of  shares  set 
opposite  our  names  and  agree  to  pay  one-half  of  the  amount 
when  the  board  of  management  shall  be  chosen  and  the  other 
half  when  called  for  by  the  board  of  directors. 

It  is  understood  that  the  shares  are  to  be  $30.00  each  and  that 
the  annual  dues  shall  be  $30.00  per  share.  The  dues  shall  be 
payable  in  1911  as  called  for  by  the  board  of  directors.  The 
syndicate  may  be  formed  and  the  board  elected  when  100  shares 
are  subscribed. 

It  is  proposed  to  have  200  shares;  not  more  than  20  to  be  held 
by  any  one  person. 

Name No.  of  Shares 

A  paragraph  might  well  be  added  providing  for  the 
compensation  of  the  person  who  secures  the  signatures 
and  performs  the  work  of  organization,  as  follows : 

"It  is  understood  that  A.  B ,  who  has  agreed  to  undertake 

the  work  of  securing  the  signatures  to  this  agreement,  of  organ- 
izing the  syndicate  and  of  procuring  the  shooting  leases,  shall 

receive  for  his  services  the  sum  of  $ for  each  share  and 

his  necessary  traveling  expenses." 

Much  time  necessarily  is  consumed  in  explaining  the 
objects  of  the  association  to  those  who  are  invited  to  be- 
come active  or  "preferred"  stockholders  and  in  securing 
the  leases  from  the  land  owners  and  in  explaining  the 
objects  of  the  association  to  them,  and  it  is  fair  that  the 
person  who  undertakes  this  work  should  be  paid.  The 
work  also  will  progress  more  rapidly  if  some  one  is  thus 
employed  than  it  will  otherwise. 

When  the  required  number  of  shareholders  have  sub- 
scribed for  the  stock  they  should  be  notified  to  attend  a 
meeting  and  elect  a  board  of  directors.  Proxies  should 
be  secured  from  those  who  cannot  attend  the  meeting. 


If  the  club  decides  to  purchase  any  land  it  should  be 
incorporated. 

The  board  should  be  made  up  of  from  six  to  ten  or  more 
directors,  and  it  should  at  once  organize  and  elect  its 
officers — a  president,  vice-president,  secretary  and  treas- 
urer. The  board  should  select  an  executive  committee  of 
three  members,  and  the  chairman  of  this  committee 
should  be  designated  as  the  managing  director.  A  simple 
constitution  providing  for  the  officers  and  their  duties 
should  be  adopted  by  the  members,  and  the  board  should 
have  the  power  to  make  rules  to  govern  the  shooting 
and  the  conduct  of  the  members.  The  simplest  form  of 
constitution  used  by  social  clubs  will  answer  every  pur- 
pose. 

The  managing  director  should  recommend  to  the  club 
the  purchase  of  the  stock  birds  and  eggs  and  the  appli- 
ances and  foods  and  other  things  needed.  He  should 
visit  the  club  grounds  often  and  superintend  the  game- 
keeping  and  all  work  on  the  preserve,  including  the 
planting  of  grain.  He  should  recommend  the  employ- 
ment of  additional  labor  and. make  reports  to  the  board 
about  the  progress  of  the  work.  All  expenditures  of 
money  should  be  advised  by  the  executive  committee  be- 
fore being  acted  upon  by  the  board.  The  compensation 
of  the  managing  director  should  be  fixed  by  the  board. 
The  executive  committee  should  receive  their  necessary 
expenses  when  visiting  the  preserve  on  business  for  the 
benefit  of  the  association. 

The  shooting  leases  should  provide  that  the  exclusive 
right  to  shoot  and  fish  on  the  lands  and  waters  leased  be 
granted  to  the  club  for  a  period  of  years.  Five  or  ten 
years  is  the  term  often  agreed  upon.  It  is  advisable  that 


TO  FORM  A  DUCK  CLUB,  OR  SYNDICATE  111 

the  leases  should  contain  a  privilege  of  purchase  at  a 
fixed  price.  Often  the  land  owners  reserve  the  right  to 
sell  the  land  and  to  cancel  the  leases  if  a  purchaser  is  se- 
cured. Where  such  provisions  are  incorporated  in  a 
lease  the  club  should  reserve  the  right  to  purchase  at  the 
price  offered,  and  the  owner  should  agree  to  first  offer  the 
land  to  the  club. 

The  leases  often  contain  covenants  that  the  farmers 
will  prevent  trespassers  from  trespassing,  or  aid  the  club 
in  so  doing,  and  that  prosecutions  for  trespass  may  be 
conducted  in  the  name  of  the  land  owner  or  in  the  name 
of  the  club. 

The  leases  often  provide  for  the  privilege  of  renewal  at 
a  fixed  price.  They  should  be  recorded  in  States  where 
the  recording  of  leases  for  a  term  of  years  is  required  by 
law,  and  the  lease  should,  of  course,  be  drawn  in  corform- 
ance  with  the  laws  regulating  conveyances,  which  vary  in 
the  different  States.  The  form  adopted  should  be  ap- 
proved by  a  local  attorney,  who  should  act  as  the  legal 
advisor  of  the  syndicate. 

The  publishers  of  The  Amateur  Sportsman  have  made 
arrangements  to  furnish  information  on  all  subjects  re- 
lating to  the  organization  of  a  game  syndicate,  including 
the  forms  for  subscription  contracts,  the  employment  of 
gamekeepers,  the  selection  of  a  site,  the  procuring  of 
stock  birds  and  eggs,  and  anyone  interested  in  the  sub- 
ject will  receive  a  prompt  answer  to  a  letter  requesting 
information  about  any  of  these  subjects. 

In  some  localities  the  conditions  are  far  more  favorable 
for  starting  a  game  syndicate  than  they  are  in  others,  not 
only  on  account  of  the  desirability  of  the  ground,  but  also 
on  account  of  the  attitude  of  the  residents  towards  those 


112  TO  FORM  A  DUCK  CLUB,  OR  SYNDICATE 

who  undertake  to  breed  game.  These  are  many  matters 
which  should  be  carefully  considered  before  a  game  club 
is  organized. 

The  numerous  game  protective  associations,  which 
have  been  formed  to  procure  game  laws  and  to  see  that 
they  are  executed,  might  well  favor  game  syndicates  and 
undertake  the  practical  increase  of  game  in  order  to  pro- 
vide good  shooting  for  their  members.  The  gun  clubs, 
also,  which  are  formed  to  provide  shooting  at  inanimate 
targets,  easily  might  become  game  clubs  and  provide 
good  field  shooting  for  their  members. 

The  "appetite  for  legislation"*  in  America  nowhere  is 
more  enormous  than  it  appears  to  be  among  those  who 
are  organized  to  restrict  the  taking  of  the  wild  food  birds. 
As  a  result  of  this  insatiate  appetite  North  America  has 
a  thousand  more  game  laws  than  any  country  which  has 
game.  Many  ridiculous  crimes  have  been  created  which 
do  not  rest  on  any  legal  principles,  and  the  number  of 
new  laws  and  new  crimes  which  annually  are  enacted  and 
created  is  positively  appalling. 

It  will  be  found  quite  as  easy  for  the  trap  shooters  to 
have  good  duck  shooting  as  it  is  for  them  to  have  good 
shooting  at  clay  targets.  The  members  of  the  protective 
associations  will  find  it  easier  to  secure  good  bird  shoot- 
ing than  it  is  to  procure  new  game  laws,  and  when  the 
value  of  the  meat  secured  is  taken  into  consideration 
good  sport  appears  to  be  within  the  means  of  anyone  who 
is  willing  to  do  something  practical. 

The  trouble  in  America  heretofore  has  been  that  there 
has  been  no  knowledge  of  the  subject.  The  "more  game" 


*The  Hon.   Woodrow  Wilson   is  reported   to  have  coined  this   happy 
phrase. 


TO  FORM  A  DUCK  CLUB,  OR  SYNDICATE  113 

clubs  which  are  now  being  organized  soon  will  be  able 
to  furnish  accurate  figures  as  to  the  cost  of  good  shoot- 
ing, and  when  the  owners  of  game  are  permitted  to  sell 
some  of  the  birds  reared,  during  a  long  open  season,  I 
have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  excellent  duck  shooting 
will  cost  little  or  nothing. 

The  reader  has  observed,  no  doubt,  that  no  provision  is 
made  for  the  expenses  of  a  club  house.  These  may  be 
made  to  suit  the  members  of  a  syndicate  if  a  farm  house 
be  rented  or  if  a  club  house  be  erected.  The  sportsmen 
who  go  to  shoot  on  unpreserved  marshes  usually  board  at 
a  country  hotel  or  gunning  house,  and  the  members  of  a 
syndicate  easily  can  arrange  to  put  up  at  a  country  hotel 
in  the  vicinity  of  their  shooting  ground,  provided  it  be 
impractical  to  go  and  return  the  same  day.  I  visited  a 
preserve  near  New  York  recently  and  saw  some  fine  duck 
shooting.  A  good  bag  was  made.  The  sportsmen  all  left 
the  city  at  noon  and  returned  within  an  hour  after  dark. 
The  chief  advantage  of  looking  after  the  game  properly  is 
that  good  shooting  can  be  had  in  convenient  locations 
where  at  present  there  is  no  game. 

Every  game  club,  or  syndicate,  should  keep  a  game  reg- 
ister, in  which  should  be  entered  the  names  of  the  various" 
species  of  game  and  the  number  taken  by  each  gun.  Some 
of  the  clubs  have  the  names  of  the  game  printed  across 
the  top  of  the  page,  and  the  names  of  the  sportsmen  are 
entered  at  the  left  hand  side  of  the  page,  and  the  number 
of  each  species  of  game  taken  is  placed  under  the  printed 
heading  designating  the  species.  The  form  of  game  reg- 
ister used  at  some  of  the  American  duck  clubs  is  printed 
in  "Our  Feathered  Game." 


XV 

THE  RESTORATION  OF  WILD  FOWL— LURING 
DUCKS  AND  GEESE 

A  NYONE  who  has  traveled  much  must  have  observed 
••*  that  there  are  thousands  of  small  ponds,  lakes  and 
streams  in  America  where  the  wild  ducks  are  seldom,  if 
ever,  seen.  Many  of  these  waters  are  attractive  to  fowl, 
since  their  natural  foods  are  plentiful,  and  unattractive 
waters  can  be  made  attractive  in  the  manner  heretofore 
described.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  duck  clubs  often  there 
are  places  where  the  ducks  can  be  lured  as  described  in 
this  chapter,  and  sportsmen  of  small  means  easily  can 
form  syndicates,  or  clubs,  and  at  a  small  expense  per 
gun  they  can  have  good  duck  shooting  during  a  long 
open  season.  It  is  necessary,  of  course,  to  employ  a 
gamekeeper  and  to  control  the  enemies  of  the  ducks  and 
to  provide  quiet  nesting  places  where  trespassers  can- 
not enter  to  drive  the  ducks  away. 

The  ducks  from  the  club  grounds  as  well  as  migratory 
ducks  soon  will  visit  such  places,  and  the  fowl  easily  may 
be  lured  from  the  neighboring  marshes. 

I  wish  to  invite  the  reader's  attention  especially  to  the 
fact  that  no  one  will  be  damaged,  provided  the  ducks  be 
lured  and  restored  to  places  where  they  no  longer  occur 
and  that  the  laws  should  favor  such  industry. 

114 


THE  RESTORATION  OF  WILD  FOWL     115 

Mr.  De  Visme  Shaw  in  discussing  this  subject  says: 
"We  now  come  to  the  question  of  luring  wild  duck  to 
frequent  a  certain  piece  of  water  as  a  feeding  spot  and  to 
afford  sport  at  flight  time.  When  practiced  near  a  part 
of  the  coast  or  any  inland  district  frequented  by  duck, 
the  system  I  am  about  briefly  to  describe  invariably  com- 
mands success. 

"There  must  be  a  pond,  either  rfatural  or  artificial,  to 
serve  as  the  home  of  the  decoy  ducks.  Though  quite  a 
small  piece  of  water  will  answer  the  purpose  in  view,  it 
is  advisable  that  the  pond  be  not  less  than  a  quarter  of 
an  acre  in  extent,  while  half  an  acre  is  better.  A  perfect 
pond  can  be  made  at  small  expense  by  cutting  a  pass 
athwart  a  marsh  dyke.  There  should  be  some  rough 
cover  dotted  around  the  water;  the  bank  should  shelve 
gently  and  should  be  of  considerable  area.  It  is  here 
that  corn  is  scattered,  and  it  is  one's  object  to  ensure 
that  the  decoy  birds  and  birds  flighting  early  shall  be 
unable  to  clear  up  the  food  before  the  advent  of  late  ar- 
rivals. Scattering  grain  thinly  over  a  wide  surface 
achieves  this  end. 

"The  decoy  birds  may  be  either  a  cross  between  the 
common  game  duck  and  the  mallard  or  a  further  cross 
having  the  halfbred  bird  as  one  parent  and  the  pure  mal- 
lard as  the  other.  I  consider  the  former  preferable  when 
one's  pond  is  within  or  near  to  a  locality  frequented  by 
wild  birds  and  the  latter  when  it  is  more  or  less  remote 
therefrom. 

"The  greater  the  proportion  of  domestic  blood  the 
stronger  the  attachment  to  home ;  the  greater  the  propor- 
tion of  wild  blood  the  wider  the  range  of  the  birds  and 
the  better  the  prospect  of  establishing  leads  from  a  dis- 


116    THE  RESTORATION  OF  WILD  FOWL 

tance.  The  ducklings  should  be  placed  on  the  pond  at 
the  age  of  eight  or  nine  weeks.  Never  allow  these  decoy 
birds  maize,  as  the  food  makes  them  too  fat  and  hence 
disinclined  to  fly  far  on  their  own  accord.  If  the  pond 
be  situated  in  a  district  where  mallard  breed,  efforts 
should  be  made,  by  scattering  wheat  thinly  over  the  feed- 
ing ground,  to  induce  wild  birds  to  frequent  the  pond  as 
soon  as  the  young  are  able  to  fly.  When  one  has  to  rely 
on  migrants  alone  early  October  is  soon  enough  to  aban- 
don feeding  after  the  ordinary  manner  in  favor  of  scat- 
tering the  corn  over  a  wide  area.  The  decoy  ducks 
should  be  kept  very  tame." 

Mr.  Shaw  describes  the  shooting  of  the  birds  which 
are  drawn  nightly  to  visit  the  pond  as  follows : 

"A  quarter  of  an  hour  or  so  before  what  you  calculate 
to  be  the  beginning  of  flight  time,  on  the  day  arranged 
for  the  beginning  of  operations,  give  your  decoy  birds  a 
full  feed.  Then  let  a  dog  put  them  roughly  on  the  wing, 
a  shot  or  two  being  fired  as  they  are  leaving  the  pond. 
They  will  not  go  far,  and,  having  been  disturbed  in  this 
manner,  and  having  had  their  hunger  quite  satisfied, 
they  will  seldom  return  at  the  flight.  The  guns  are  then 
to  take  their  places  in  the  blinds.  Repeat  these  proceed- 
ings every  time  of  shooting.  Not  till  the  flight  is  quite 
over  must  there  be  made  any  attempt  to  gather  the  duck 
which  fall.  Mark  them,  by  sound  if  not  by  sight,  as 
carefully  as  possible,  and  let  the  dog  retrieve  them  after- 
wards. As  long  as  a  lead  remains  unbroken  sport  may 
be  had  throughout  the  season.  It  should  be  made  a  rule 
never  to  shoot  more  often  than  once  a  week.  *  *  *  Ducks 
which  have  been  shot  at  or  have  had  their  companions 
shot  at  a  few  times  will  often  come  in  high  over  the  pond 


THE  RESTORATION  OF  WILD  FOWL     117 

and  drop  to  the  water  almost  like  stones.  Such  should 
be  roused  again  directly  they  reach  the  water,  when  they 
are  almost  certain  to  give  one  of  the  guns  an  easy  shot. 
So  simple  and  so  effective  is  the  plan  of  obtaining  tip-top 
flight  shooting  that  one  often  wonders  at  the  lack  of  en- 
terprise on  the  part  of  owners  of  water  naturally  suited 
to  its  practice  in  so  seldom  putting  it  into  effect." 

The  State  game  officers  evidently  cannot  provide  good 
duck  shooting  on  the  marshes  which  are  now  owned  by 
individuals,  and  they  have  done  nothing  towards  restor- 
ing the  fowl  to  places  which  have  been  shot  out.  It 
would  seem  impossible  for  the  State  to  introduce  the 
ducks  on  ponds  which  are  overrun  by  trespassers  and  by 
vermin  wild  and  tame. 

The  State  game  officers  might  easily  breed  thousands 
of  wild  fowl  on  ponds  owned  by  the  State,  and  the  ducks 
thus  produced  should  be  distributed  as  stock  birds  to 
those  who  will  agree  to  look  after  them  properly  and  to 
increase  their  numbers.  The  more  capable  game  officers 
throughout  the  country  now  favor  the  profitable  breed- 
ing of  game  by  game  farmers  and  preservers.  They 
know  that  such  industry  should  not  be  prevented  by 
laws  which  shorten  the  season,  limit  the  bag  and  pro- 
hibit the  sale  of  desirable  food. 

In  Massachusetts  many  wild  fowl  are  lured  to  ponds 
by  trained  decoys  which  are  taught  to  fly  out  over  the 
water.  The  geese  and  duck  decoys  are  bred  near  the 
ponds,  but  the  breeding  of  ducks  in  large  numbers  for 
sport  has  been  undertaken  only  on  a  few  preserves  in 
Massachusetts.  The  shooting  of  wild  fowl  over  trained 
decoys  seems  to  be  a  sport  peculiar  to  Eastern  Massa- 
chusetts alone.  It  is  done  for  the  most  part  in  the  ponds 


118    THE  RESTORATION  OF  WILD  FOWL 

of  Norfolk,  Plymouth  and  Barnstable  Counties.  Mr.  Ware 
says:  "Barring  one  stand  near  Portland  and  one  on  the 
shores  of  Quincy  Bay  by  salt  water,  I  know  of  no  other 
places  outside  of  this  comparatively  small  district  where 
wild  fowl  are  taken  in  this  way,  but  from  Ponkapog, 
hardly  a  dozen  miles  from  Boston,  a  skirmish  line  of 
shooting  stands  on  the  shores  of  the  diifferent  ponds 
stretches  across  the  path  of  the  Southerly  migration  of 
the  birds  as  far  east  as  Wellfleet  far  out  on  Cape  Cod. 

"The  best  opportunities  usually  come  when  the  birds 
have  been  driven  off  their  outside  course  by  the  heavy 
North  Easterly  storms  of  the  Fall  and  early  Winter, 
which  send  them  inland,  heavy  winged  and  astray.  .  .  . 
This  is  without  doubt  the  spot  they  have  sought,  and, 
honking  and  quacking  in  grateful  salutation,  they  set 
their  tired  wings  and  circle  down.  The  sounds  of  wel- 
come redouble  in  volume  as  they  approach  the  surface 
of  the  pond,  and  in  a  moment,  as  if  unable  longer  to  await 
their  coming,  a  flock  of  earlier  arrivals  in  that  haven  of 
refuge  swings  out  from  the  shadow  of  the  woods  like  a 
committee  of  reception  to  greet  them."* 

Mr.  Ware  regards  the  geese  as  far  more  interesting 
than  the  ducks  and  says  many  of  the  birds  develop 
marked  individualities  of  their  own  in  addition  to  the 
habits  common  to  all  of  them. 

"The  goose  'callers'  are  either  wild  birds  which  have 
been  captured  and  domesticated  or  birds  more  than  a 
year  old  born  in  captivity  from  wild  stock.  The  'flyers' 
are  born  in  captivity,  of  course,  and  the  keeping  up  of  the 
supply  of  goose  'flyers,'  the  most  picturesque  element  in 


*"In  the  Woods  and  on  the  Shore."    By  Richard  H.  Ware.    L.  C.  Tnpe 
&  Co.,  Boston. 


•  THE  RESTORATION  OF  WILD  FOWL     119 

the  whole  sport  to  my  mind,  is  the  greatest  difficulty 
connected  with  it.  Apart  from  the  raids  of  rats  and 
skunks  upon  the  young  birds,  the  reasons  for  this  are 
two — the  apparent  weakening  of  the  'life  force'  in  Sha- 
vian terms  in  the  birds  born  in  captivity,  so  that  mating 
is  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule  among  them,  pos- 
sibly because  the  field  of  natural  selection  is  limited  to 
the  few  rather  than  the  many,  and  the  fact  that  both 
goose  and  gander,  once  mated,  are  faithful  in  bereave- 
ment forever  after.f  This  is  doubtless  highly  creditable 
to  the  birds,  though  it  has  been  suggested  that  this  was 
the  true  reason  of  their  being  called  geese,  but  it  is  equal- 
ly inconvenient  to  their  owners."* 


*"In  the  Woods  and  on  the  Shore."     By  Richard  H.  Ware, 
t  See  statement  of  Warren   R.  Leach,  contra,  in  the  chapter  on  Wild 
Geese. 


XVI 

WILD  DUCK  SHOOTING  ON   PRESERVES 


*T*HE  reader  no  doubt  wishes  to  know  how  wild  ducks 
•••  can  be  shot  on  small  preserves  without  driving 
them  away.  When  I  first  learned  that  they  were  pre- 
serving wild  ducks  in  England  I  wondered  how  the  fowl 
could  be  kept  at  home  or  within  reasonable  bounds  after 
the  shooting  began,  but  some  simple  experiments  which 
I  made  with  mallards  and  dusky  ducks,  after  I  had 
studied  the  English  methods  as  described  in  the  maga- 
zines, soon  satisfied  me  that  the  problem  is  as  easy  of 
solution  as  standing  an  egg  on  end  is  when  one  knows 
how. 

The  secret  of  success  lies  in  keeping  a  pond  or  small 
stream  absolutely  safe  and  attractive  at  all  times,  so  that 
when  the  ducks  are  disturbed  and  shot  at  when  they  fly 
about  they  will  at  once  seek  the  safe  refuge  and  remain 
there.  They  will  do  this,  provided  the  food  supply,  natu- 
ral or  artificial,  and  the  cover  are  satisfactory.  Some  birds, 
of  course,  may  desert  in  company  with  strange  ducks 
which  visit  the  preserve,  but  the  game  consists  in  mak- 
ing the  place  so  attractive  that  the  visitors  will  be  in- 
clined to  remain  instead  of  taking  the  home  birds  away 
with  them.  A  correspondent  of  The  Shooting  Times  and 

120 


WILD  DUCK  SHOOTING  ON  PRESERVES  121 

British  Sportsman  says:  "There  are  very  few  shoots, 
possessing  water  in  the  shape  of  a  lake  or  pond,  on  which 
wild  duck  are  not  now  reared,  but  we  hear  that  trouble 
and  disappointment  are  caused  by  the  duck  deserting. 
This  cannot  altogether  be  prevented  with  any  birds  al- 
lowed the  free  use  of  their  wings,  but  if  it  occurs  whole- 
sale, there  is  something  wrong  as  regards  management. 
The  general  practice  is  to  cram  the  duck  with  food  all 
day  and  leave  them  without  any  at  night,  which  is  a  com- 
plete reversion  of  their  habits,  as  it  is  their  custom  to 
rest  during  the  day  and  feed  after  dark.  The  really  wild 
duck  feeds  to  some  extent  during  the  day,  but  not  like 
it  does  at  night.  If  the  duck  are  only  supplied  with  a 
light  meal  during  the  day,  and  given  a  heavy  feed  just  as 
darkness  is  setting  in,  nothing  will  tempt  them  to  desert, 
for  they  are  only  liable  to  fly  off  at  flight  time. 

"In  a  district  close  by  the  sea,  or  in  other  localities  fre- 
quented by  wild  duck,  those  hand-reared  must  be  watched 
closely,  as  it  is  the  wild  birds  which  decoy  them  away. 
The  aim  of  readers  should  be  to  tempt  the  strangers  to 
remain  with  the  hand-reared  duck,  and  this  they  are 
willing  to  do  if  privacy  can  be  arranged.  There  is  sel- 
dom any  difficulty  in  inducing  them  to  stay  on  a  se- 
questered piece  of  water.  The  really  wild  duck  appear 
among  the  hand-reared  ones  at  night,  flying  down  to 
them  owing  to  their  calling,  and  if  our  advice  to  scatter 
plenty  of  feed  at  dark  has  been  followed,  there  should  be 
attraction  for  the  visitors  to  stay.  Otherwise,  the  birds 
will  soon  leave  for  the  feeding  grounds  and  take  with 
them  some  of  the  hand-reared  duck.  Even  greater  care 
must  be  observed  at  pairing  time,  for  then  the  wild  drakes 
do  their  utmost  to  decoy  the  females  away,  but  if  they 


122  WILD  DUCK  SHOOTING  ON  PRESERVES 

can  be  induced  to  remain,  there  is  little  fear  of  inbreed- 
ing." 

The  shooting  should  be  done  before  the  ice  forms,  at 
which  time  or  soon  thereafter  the  ducks  naturally  are 
inclined  to  go  South.  Since  the  young  of  some  species 
of  ducks  are  fully  grown  and  fly  well  by  the  last  of  Au- 
gust, the  season  should  be  made  a  long  one. 

I  have  shot  many  young  ducks  which  were  bred  about 
the  prairie  ponds  in  several  States  when  I  was  shooting 
prairie  chickens  in  August  and  September,  and  those 
who  undertake  to  save  the  wild  fowl  and  to  increase  their 
numbers  in  the  prairie  States  should  save  and  multiply 
the  grouse  at  the  same  time  and  have  a  variety  of  shooting. 

The  pond  in  Colorado  (described  in  a  former  chapter) 
where  the  owner  entertains  hundreds  of  ducks  near  his 
house  fairly  represents  one  part  of  a  good  duck  preserve, 
for  which  the  owner  acts  as  gamekeeper.  The  reader 
will  remember  that  the  ducks  left  this  pond  often  to  visit 
a  lake  and  that  some  of  them  were  shot  as  they  passed 
overhead  in  going  to  the  lake  and  when  returning.  Some, 
no  doubt,  were  shot  on  the  lake.  Had  those  who  did  the 
shooting  been  permitted  to  disturb  the  fowl  at  will  and  to 
arrange  their  blinds  so  as  to  get  the  best  shooting  as  the 
birds  departed  or  returned,  they  would  have  had  an  ex- 
cellent game  preserve  at  very  little  trouble  and  expense. 
There  would  be  no  danger  of  driving  the  ducks  away, 
provided  the  shooting  be  not  done  too  often. 

If  the  general  public  had  been  permitted  to  surround 
the  little  pond  near  the  house  and  to  bombard  the  ducks 
at  all  hours  of  the  day  the  ducks  would  have  deserted 
the  place,  and  it  would  remain  as  desolate  as  the  ponds 
are  in  New  England  and  in  other  settled  regions. 


On  some  of  the  small  preserves  where  the  ducks  fly 
quickly  out  of  bounds  the  shooting  cannot  be  long  con- 
tinued or  done  oftener  than  once  a  week,  since  the  ducks 
are  disturbed  by  the  firing  near  their  safe  refuge  and  soon 
become  afraid  to  venture  down  to  it. 

We  have,  however,  an  abundance  of  room  in  America, 
and  since  the  lands  suitable  for  ducks  are  inexpensive 
many  preserves  can  be  started  quickly  and  cheaply. 
When  the  ducks  have  several  waters,  a  half  mile  or  more 
apart,  it  will  be  an  easy  matter  to  have  good  flight  shoot- 
ing and  at  the  same  time  to  keep  the  birds  within  bounds. 
They  will  return  to  the  safe  pond  when  shot  at,  and,  of 
course,  they  should  not  be  too  often  driven  out  of  it. 
There  is  more  danger  of  the  ducks  becoming  too  tame 
where  they  are  properly  looked  after  than  there  is  of 
their  deserting. 

The  methods  of  preserving  wild  ducks  and  of  shooting 
them  on  very  small  preserves  may  seem  to  be  artificial. 
They  are,  more  or  less  so,  necessarily,  but  on  large  places 
the  shooting  need  not  differ  much,  if  any,  from  the  shoot- 
ing at  wild  ducks  in  any  good  duck  region.  The  shoot- 
ing will  be  flight  shooting  at  birds  passing  overhead,  and 
the  birds  reared  on  the  place,  if  they  be  properly  handled 
and  not  overfed,  will  travel  as  fast  and  as  high  as  the 
wildest  ducks  which  come  to  join  them  at  the  times  of 
the  annual  migration.  Those  who  would  criticise  the 
shooting  on  preserves  as  artificial  should  remember  that 
the  duck  shooting,  which  they  enjoy,  over  decoys,  is  even 
more  artificial,  since  the  game  is  lured  to  the  guns  by  the 
live  or  artificial  decoys,  and  the  shooting  is  far  easier 
and,  to  my  mind,  far  less  interesting  than  the  shooting 
at  the  swifter  marks  is. 


124  WILD  DUCK  SHOOTING  ON  PRESERVES 

Where  many  ducks  are  encouraged  to  breed  wild  on 
the  preserve  the  gunner  can  seldom  tell  if  he  is  shooting 
at  a  hand-reared  fowl  or  at  one  that  has  been  bred  in  the 
marshes,  provided  always  that  the  first  named  be  not 
made  too  fat  and  lazy  by  overfeeding  to  fly  well. 

The  reader  should  remember  that  it  is  an  easy  matter 
to  domesticate  certain  species  of  wild  ducks,  especially 
the  mallard  and  dusky  ducks,  the  birds  most  used  on 
preserves  for  hand-rearing,  and  that  tame  and  overfed 
ducks  are  of  little  more  value  from  a  sporting  viewpoint 
than  ducks  which  have  deserted  the  preserve  never  to  re- 
turn. It  requires  good  judgment  on  the  part  of  the  game- 
keeper to  keep  his  ducks  fairly  wild  and  strong  on  the 
wing  and  at  the  same  time  to  keep  them  within  bounds. 

On  some  of  the  small  shoots  in  England  the  ducks  are 
kept  more  tame  than  they  should  be  on  a  larger  area. 
The  shooting  sometimes  is  highly  artificial.  The  ducks 
are  handled  in  various  ways  so  as  to  bring  them  to  the 
guns  continuously  in  small  numbers. 

The  most  artificial  method  of  all,  no  doubt,  consists  in 
catching  the  ducks  in  the  wire  traps  referred  to  else- 
where and  in  taking  them  to  a  distance  from  their  pond 
and  there  releasing  them  singly  and  in  pairs  and  small 
companies  at  short  intervals.  When  the  ducks  are  taken 
beyond  a  wood  or  strip  of  timber  they  must  ascend  to 
pass  over  it,  and  they  will  fly  high  in  coming  to  the  pond. 
In  some  places  they  are  released  from  a  hill  or  other  ele- 
vation. I  know  a  gamekeeper  who  can  give  a  line  of 
guns  equally  good  shooting  from  a  row  of  blinds  placed 
about  two  gunshots  or  a  little  more  apart.  He  has  sev- 
eral ponds  back  of  the  shooting  stands,  and  a  good  sized 
flock  of  ducks  is  reared  on  each  pond.  When  the  birds 


are  liberated  they  spread  out  in  returning  to  their  dif- 
ferent ponds,  and  in  this  way  ducks  are  made  to  pass 
over  all  of  the  guns  in  nearly  equal  numbers. 

I  much  prefer  the  shooting  of  wilder  birds  on  the  duck 
pass  and  jumping  them  from  before  a  boat,  pushed 
through  the  wild  rice;  but  each  to  his  taste.  The  time 
for  criticising  the  conduct  of  others  as  a  means  of  in- 
creasing the  game  has  passed.  Almost  everything  that 
anyone  could  think  of  has  been  tried  as  a  restrictive  game 
law,  and  for  good  scientific  reasons  the  laws  have  failed 
to  stay  the  decrease  of  the  game  appreciably  in  settled 
regions. 

The  increase  of  game  should  be  encouraged  by  every 
possible  means,  and  we  should  always  remember  what 
one  does  in  one  way  another  may  prefer  to  do  in  another 
and  that  everything  making  for  the  increase  of  game  and 
sport  is  desirable  and  much  needed. 

We  should  always  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  the  over- 
flow of  game  from  places  where  it  is  abundant  is  highly 
beneficial  to  those  who  do  nothing  towards  aiding  the 
good  work  of  propagation.  Many  a  stray  duck  will  be 
shot  outside  of  the  game  farms  and  preserves  when  these 
places  are  numerous,  and  this  is  the  shooting  I  like  best. 

Near  a  duck  preserve  where  many  ducks  are  shot  every 
season  I  learned  that  the  gunners  in  the  vicinity  had 
some  shooting  at  the  ducks  beyond  the  limits  of  the  pre- 
serve which  they  certainly  would  not  have  had  in  the 
absence  of  the  preserve,  since  no  ducks  ever  were  reared 
in  a  wild  state  in  the  locality  and  the  place  is  out  of  the 
line  of  flight  of  the  migratory  fowl.  There  is  no  danger 
of  our  having  too  many  preserves.  They  are  more  bene- 
ficial to  free  sport  than  game  refuges. 


126  WILD  DUCK  SHOOTING  ON  PRESERVES 

A  few  days  ago  I  witnessed  a  shoot  on  a  preserve  not 
far  from  New  York  where  wild  ducks  are  artificially 
reared.  There  were  six  guns  in  the  party  and  several  of 
them  undoubtedly  were  good  shots,  but  they  made  many 
misses  since  the  ducks  were  very  wild  and  flew  high  and 
fast  as  they  came  to  the  guns  over  the  tops  of  the  trees, 
behind  which  they  were  stationed.  I  endeavored  to  keep 
an  account  of  the  number  of  shots  fired  in  order  to  ascer- 
tain how  many  cartridges  were  used  for  each  duck 
bagged.  It  was  evident  at  the  outset  that  from  five  to 
ten  shots  were  being  fired  for  each  duck  killed,  but  the 
shooting  became  very  rapid  at  times  and  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  do  more  than  to  roughly  estimate  the  proportion 
of  shots  and  ducks.  During  the  shooting  about  sixty- 
five  mallards  were  bagged,  and  I  am  quite  sure  at  least 
six  hundred,  and  probably  more,  shots  were  fired. 

Although  I  do  not  especially  care  for  this  kind  of  shoot- 
ing, or,  in  fact,  for  any  kind  of  shooting  from  ambush, 
since  I  much  prefer  to  ramble  about  with  dogs,  and  I  care 
nothing  for  big  bags,  I  must  admit  that  the  shooting  at 
the  mallards,  which  I  observed,  was  as  difficult  as  any 
shooting  I  had  ever  had  or  seen  on  a  duck  pass,  and  far 
more  difficult  than  shooting  over  dogs  is,  excepting,  pos- 
sibly, the  shooting  in  heavy  cover. 

Comparing  the  shooting  at  the  hand-reared  fowl  with 
the  shooting  of  wild  bred  ducks  over  decoys  one  is 
forced  to  admit  that  the  last  named  seems  like  a  child's 
play.  It  is  by  far  the  easier  shooting. 

The  ducks  were  in  fine  condition  and  on  previous  days 
I  was  informed  the  bags  were  somewhat  larger.  Several 
hundred^  ducks  were  shot  during  the  week  and  some  of 
them  were  sent  to  market,  very  properly.  Since  every 


WILD  DUCK  SHOOTING  ON  PRESERVES  127 

duck  was  observed,  as  it  fell,  and  was  quickly  gathered, 
the  element  of  cruelty,  which  some  people  who  are  op- 
posed to  field  sports  object  to,  was  practically  elimi- 
nated. The  sportsmen  spent  an  agreeable  and  exciting 
day  in  the  open  air ;  the  cool  breezes  gave  them  the  good 
color  which  indicates  health,  and  since  the  game  they 
killed  is  edible  there  should  be  no  possible  objection  to 
the  sport  which  induced  them  to  spend  the  day  in  the 
country. 

The  guns  and  ammunition  were  the  best  that  could  be 
purchased,  and  some  very  long  shots  were  made  which 
killed  the  game  instantly.  Having  passed  the  guns  the 
ducks  circled  about  and  dropped  into  the  pond  beside 
which  they  were  reared  and  I  was  surprised  to  observe 
how  few  of  them  left  the  preserve,  which  is  not  a  large 
one.  About  a  half  dozen  mallards  were  bagged  by  out- 
siders shooting  at  the  border  of  the  preserve,  and  they, 
too,  fired  ten  and  probably  twenty  shots  for  each  duck 
secured.  They  were  shooting  heavy  loads  of  No.  4  shot. 

Although  the  birds  were  comparatively  tame,  when  I 
observed  them  during  the  breeding  season,  as  all  game 
is  when  it  is  not  disturbed,  everyone  who  observed  their 
swift  and  high  flight  admitted  that  the  shooting  was 
fully  as  difficult  as  the  shooting  at  wild  bred  birds  ever 
is,  and  far  more  difficult  than  it  often  is. 


XVII 

DISEASES  OF  WILD  DUCKS 

TVTILD  ducks,  autochthonic  birds,  are  little  subject  to 
**  disease.  They  are  more  easily  reared  than  pheas- 
ants.* The  gamekeepers  in  America  have  been  remark- 
ably successful  in  rearing  wild  ducks  in  large  numbers; 
often  on  very  small  artificial  waters.  Excepting  one  in- 
stance (when,  unfortunately,  the  cause  of  the  disease  was 
not  ascertained,  but  which  was  due  probably  to  the  feed- 
ing), I  have  never  heard  of  any  losses  due  to  disease. 

The  young  ducks  should  have  shade  as  well  as  sunlight. 
Ducks  hatched  late  in  the  spring  or  in  the  early  summer 
do  not  thrive  as  well  as  those  hatched  earlier.  This,  no 
doubt,  is  on  account  of  the  hot  weather  which  they  en- 
counter at  an  early  stage  of  their  existence  when  they  are 
hatched  late,  and  when  the  ducks  are  exposed  to  too  much 
sun  or  heat  they  have  a  complaint  which  some  duck  rear- 
ers term  "straddles."  They  go  stumbling  about  as  if  they 
were  dizzy  and  soon  die.  This  is  thought  to  be  akin  to 
what  we  call  sunstroke,  if  not  identical.  I  had  a  young, 
late  hatched  brood  of  mallards  which  were  thus  affected, 
and  since  I  did  not  know  the  cause  of  the  trouble  I  moved 
the  hen  and  coop  out  to  a  sunny  field  where  I  thought 

•"Wild  Fowl."    By  L.  H.  De  Visme  Shaw.    Fur  Feather  and  Fin  Scries. 

128 


DISEASES  OF  WILD  DUCKS  129 

the  insects  might  be  more  plentiful  than  they  were  in 
the  barnyard,  but  the  sun  was  very  hot  there,  and  one 
after  another  the  young  ducks  began  to  stagger  about, 
and  within  a  few  days  they  all  died.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  I  could  have  saved  these  birds  by  rearing  them  in 
the  shade. 

The  Rev.  Adrian  Woodruffe-Peacock,  F.  Z.  S.,  in  an 
article  in  The  Shooting  Times  and  British  Sportsman, 
says: 

"Wild  ducks  suffer  from  diseases  like  other  birds. 
Enteric  troubles  follow  on  dirty  or  stale  feeding,  espe- 
cially on  overcrowded  ground  or  waters.  Ophthalmia  is 
a  constant  source  of  loss,  where  foul  heads  are  allowed 
from  dirty  feeding  ways,  or  pans,  or  ground.  Proper 
muddy  water,  with  sand  and  grit,  as  suggested  in  this 
article,  will  practically  rid  ducks  of  this  trouble.  Lice, 
too,  may  trouble  them,  but  mercurial  ointment  or  insect 
powder  will  soon  destroy  these  pests.  Sunstroke,  or 
'splanders,'  is  very  common  with  young  ducks  in  bright 
summer  weather,  but  shade  and  muddy  water  will  keep 
them  in  health,  or  soon  put  them  right,  if  they  are  pro- 
vided beforehand,  or  at  once  upon  the  appearance  of  this 
trouble.  A  disease  of  the  lungs  and  liver,  new  to  science, 
which  is  very  deadly,  and  common  alike  to  grown  ducks 
and  fowls,  I  have  met  with,  but  as  yet  am  not  in  a  posi- 
tion to  give  advice  about  it." 

The  records  from  the  English  preserves  indicate  that 
the  diseases  referred  to  seldom  make  their  appearance 
and  sustain  Mr.  Shaw's  statement  that  wild  ducks  are 
easily  reared. 

Last  season  (1910)  many  wild  ducks  died  in  Utah 
(where,  I  believe,  no  artificial  rearing  has  been  under- 


130  DISEASES  OF  WILD  DUCKS 

taken),  evidently  from  disease,  and  Mr.  Chambers,  the 
State  Fish  and  Game  Commissioner,  sent  some  of  them 
to  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  of  the  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  in  order  to  learn,  if  possible,  the  na- 
ture of  the  disease.  THe  report,  made  by  Mr.  J.  R. 
Mohler,  Chief  of  the  Division  of  Pathology,  is  interesting 
to  sportsmen  and  scientists,  but  the  cause  of  the  disease 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  discovered.  The  report  is  as 
follows : 

"WASHINGTON,  D.  C,  Oct.  22,  1910. 
"Regarding  ducks  received  from  you,  Oct.  11,  through 
the  Bureau  of  Biological  Survey,  you  are  advised  that 
death  was  due  to  intestinal  coccidiosis.  The  postmortem 
examination  showed  the  carcasses  to  be  in  good  flesh. 
The  viscera  were  apparently  normal,  except  the  intes- 
tines, which  presented  throughout  the  entire  length  more 
or  less  extensive  areas  of  inflammation.  Microscopic  ex- 
amination of  the  intestinal  contents  revealed  immense 
numbers  of  coccidia  in  various  stages  of  development. 
Microscopic  examination  of  the  heart  blood  of  these  ducks 
was  negative  in  three  cases.  In  one  case  the  blood 
showed  in  §tained  films  paired  rods  with  rounded  ends, 
somewhat  larger  than  B.  coli,  also  filament  and  chain  for- 
mation. The  inoculation  of  a  pure  culture  of  this  organ- 
ism into  a  chicken  was  negative.  The  feeding  of  intes- 
tinal contents  to  half-grown  chickens  gave  negative  re- 
sults. Similar  material  inoculated  into  the  back  of  a  rab- 
bit developed  a  small  area  of  coagulation  necrosis.  The 
death  of  the  rabbit  five  days  after  inoculation  was  due  to 
a  severe  intestinal  and  hepatic  invasion  of  coccidia,  but  a 
condition  quite  prevalent  in  rabbits  and  due  to  a  cocci- 
dium  peculiar  to  that  species  of  animal. 


DISEASES  OF  WILD  DUCKS  131 

"It  may  be  interesting  to  you  to  have  the  results  of  two 
earlier  investigations  into  the  cause  of  death  of  the  Salt 
Lake  City  ducks.  Two,  received  about  Sept.  20,  in  such 
a  stage  of  decomposition  that  bacteriologic  examination 
was  not  feasible,  gave  marked  evidences  of  inflammation 
of  the  intestines  and  revealed  in  the  intestinal  contents 
upon  microscopic  examination  a  large  number  cocci- 
dial  forms.  In  the  case  of  two  ducks  received  Oct.  5  from 
Dr.  F.  E.  Murray,  inspector  in  charge  at  Salt  Lake  City, 
the  tissues  had  been  so  acted  upon  by  the  alcohol  in  which 
they  were  shipped  that  all  bacteriologic  showings  were 
negative.  These  two  birds  were  quite  different  from  the 
others,  being  extremely  emaciated,  and  the  alimentary 
tract  being  absolutely  devoid  of  contents  from  mouth  to 
vent.  No  coccidial  forms  were  recognized  in  one  of  the 
ducks,  whereas  in  the  other,  which  showed  a  marked  en- 
teritis, were  found  what  were  diagnosed  as  schizont  forms 
of  the  coccidium." 

A  writer  for  Pearson's  Weekly  says :  "Wild  ducklings 
are  much  easier  to  rear  than  pheasants,  being  free  from 
the  majority  of  pheasant  ailments.  In  fact,  when  they 
are  a  week  or  so  old,  they  are  able  to  do  without  the 
warmth  of  their  fostermothers.  They  must,  however,  be 
protected  from  keen  winds  and  hot  sun.  Without  shade, 
the  little  ducks  are  liable  to  die  wholesale  from  sunstroke. 
Some  people  call  sunstroke  'straddles,'  regarding  it  as  a 
mysterious  disease  of  unknown  origin,  and  assume  that 
to  rear  ducklings  after  May  is  to  invite  disaster.  Pro- 
vided with  compulsory  shade,  ducklings  will  thrive  all 
through  the  summer.  ...  A  bag  of  one  thousand  ducks 
is  not  rare  nowadays.  For  three  days  in  succession  an 
average  bag  of  over  fifteen  hundred  has  been  obtained 


132  DISEASES  OF  WILD  DUCKS 

each  bird  taxing  severely  the  skill  of  the  shooters.  Such 
vast  bags  explain  the  absurdly  low  price  for  which  a  cou- 
ple of  the  finest  birds  may  be  bought  by  anyone  who  cares 
for  a  change  from  beef  and  mutton."* 

I  have  seen  thousands  of  young  wild  ducks  herded 
closely  on  small  rearing  grounds  and  waters.  The  birds 
were  in  excellent  condition  throughout  the  summer,  and 
all  were  strong  on  the  wing  in  October  and  flew  high 
enough  and  fast  enough  to  test  the  skill  of  the  best  shots. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  the  fact  that  they  may  be  kept 
without  harm  in  close  quarters  is  due  to  their  spending 
much  time  on  the  water.  The  soil  is  not  fouled  to  the 
extent  it  would  be  by  land  birds. 


*Dncks  have  been  quoted  In  English  market  reports  as  low  as  2  shil- 
lings per  brace.  Captain  Gates  says  that  ducks  In  fine  condition  should 
sell  for  2  shillings  each  if  sold  at  the  right  time.  "Wild  Ducks,"  p.  57. 
In  an  English  market  report  for  1907  the  game  birds  are  quoted  as  fol- 
lows: Pheasants,  4s  6d  to  5s  brace;  partridge  (young),  3s  brace;  part- 
ridge (old),  Is  6d  brace;  hares  (English),  2s  to  2s  6d  each;  leverets,  Is  6d 
to  Is  8d  each;  wild  duck,  Is  3d  to  Is  6d  each;  pin-tail,  Is  to  Is  2d  each; 
widgeon,  lOd  to  Is  each ;  teal,  8d  to  lOd  each ;  woodcock,  Is  6d  to  Is  9d 
each ;  snipe,  6d  to  9d  each.  Supplies  fair,  but  meeting  a  moderate  demand. 


XVIII 
WILD  GEESE 

THE  Canada  wild  goose,  the  common  wild  goose  in 
America,  formerly  was  tremendously  abundant 
and  visited  the  bays  and  marshes  of  both  coasts  in  large 
flocks  on  its  Northern  and  Southern  migrations.  The 
birds  were  equally  plentiful  in  the  interior,  and  nowhere 
have  I  seen  them  in  larger  numbers  than  in  the  Missis- 
sippi and  Missouri  valleys.  The  persistent  shooting  at 
these  big  game  birds  during  a  long  open  season  and  the 
destruction  of  their  breeding  grounds  have  caused  a 
marked  diminution  in  their  numbers.  In  many  places 
they  are  no  longer  seen. 

Since  the  wild  geese  are  very  wary  birds  and  well  able 
to  take  care  of  themselves  I  am  inclined  to  believe  the 
destruction  of  their  breeding  grounds  is  a  more  important 
cause  for  their  disappearance  than  the  shooting  is. 

The  wild  goose  has  been  domesticated  easily,  and  I 
have  seen  it  breeding  in  many  States  from  New  England 
and  North  Dakota  as  far  south  as  North  Carolina.  The 
birds  reared  in  captivity  are  used,  for  the  most  part,  for 
decoys;  in  some  places  they  are  bred  as  ornaments  for 
ponds  and  lakes.  A  number  of  the  game  farmers  can 
supply  breeding  fowls  and  eggs.  Mr.  Whealton  has 

133 


134  WILD  GEESE 

many  wild  geese  on  his  wild  fowl  farm,  at  Chincoteague 
Island,  Virginia,  and  many  of  the  clubs  and  many  gun- 
ners and  baymen  from  Massachusetts  south  to  Florida 
can  supply  a  few  birds  for  propagation.  I  have  seen  the 
geese  breeding  in  Connecticut,  quite  near  New  York,  and 
Mr.  Ernest  Thompson  Seton  has  a  number  of  geese  on 
his  lake  at  Cos  Cob,  Conn.  His  birds  fly  about  the 
neighborhood,  but  are  quite  tame  and  nest  in  safety. 
They  are  properly  looked  after  and  fed.  There  are  many 
geese  on  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  which  are  quite  tame.  One 
of  the  best  flocks  I  ever  saw  is  owned  by  Mr.  Remsen, 
who  has  a  country  place  near  Speonk,  Long  Island. 

While  the  geese  for  the  most  part  are  used  as  decoys, 
it  seems  likely  they  can  be  made  a  very  good  sporting 
bird,  especially  in  places  where  gamekeepers  are  em- 
ployed. When  game  preserves  become  numerous  they 
will  fly  from  one  preserve  to  another,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  the  shooting  will  be  much  improved  on  public 
waters  and  that  the  markets  will  be  full  of  wild  geese  at 
reasonable  prices. 

Geese  often  do  not  mate  or  nest  in  captivity,  and  in 
ordering  them  from  game  farmers  the  purchaser  should 
stipulate  for  mated  birds.  These  command  much  better 
prices  than  birds  which  are  not  mated.  In  Mr.  Whealton's 
price  list,  for  1910,  Canada  geese,  young  pairs  one  to 
three  years  old,  are  quoted  at  $6.50  per  pair;  mated  pairs, 
five  years  old,  $10.00;  breeders,  ten  to  twenty  years  old, 
$15.00  per  pair. 

The  Canada  goose  lays  from  six  to  nine  eggs,  some- 
times more  when  the  bird  is  domesticated,  and  they  are 
a  uniform  ivory  white.  During  July  the  young  are 
hatched  and  the  old  birds  moult.  This  is  a  dangerous 


WILD  GEESE  135 

period  for  them,  as  their  means  of  escape  is  limited  to 
hiding  away  in  the  marshes,  at  which  they  are  very 
skillful,  or  else  keeping  out  in  the  center  of  lakes  or 
other  large  bodies  of  water.  Many,  however,  are  killed 
at  this  period,  and  sometimes  whole  flocks  are  captured 
alive,  of  which  fact  Hearne  relates  an  instance  when  some 
Indians  drove  into  Fort  Prince  of  Wales,  on  the  Churchill 
River,  forty-one  old  and  young  birds  which  were  in- 
capable of  flying,  and  which  were  herded  as  easily  as  if 
they  had  been  domesticated.*  A  game  keeper  undoubt- 
edly can  rapidly  increase  the  numbers  of  the  geese  since 
he  protects  them  from  their  natural  enemies. 

Where  only  a  few  geese  of  one  family,  or  closely  re- 
lated birds  are  held  in  captivity,  it  may  be  the  geese  do 
not  breed  because  they  are  too  closely  related  and  that 
if  the  birds  be  given  a  wider  field  for  selection  they  will 
do  better.  I  hope  to  make  some  experiments  next  season 
with  geese  procured  in  Dakota  and  in  New  England  and 
Virginia  and  the  reader  who  undertakes  game  preserv- 
ing, no  doubt,  can  make  similar  experiments  to  advan- 
tage, not  only  with  geese,  but  with  several  species  of 
ducks. 

The  Canada  geese  are  long-lived  birds.  Mr.  Whealton, 
the  largest  breeder  of  wild  geese  in  the  United  States, 
says,  in  his  circular  that  he  has  been  breeding  over  fifty 
years  and  some  of  his  oldest  breeders  are  well  past  the 
half  century  mark.  In  breeding  he  has  eliminated  the 
unfit,  keeping  only  the  best  of  his  own  for  that  purpose, 
as  well  as  adding  each  season  the  largest  wild  ganders 
or  "leaders"  of  the  Canadas  taken  on  the  coast.  He  now 
has  over  500  geese  "scattered  around  the  island  (Chin- 

*Wild  Fowl  of  North  America.    D.  G.  Elliot.     P.  58. 


136  WILD  GEESE 

coteague),  all  pinioned  when  goslings  or  when  captured, 
but  otherwise,  at  full  liberty,  for  those  which  come  from 
such  a  long  line  of  domesticated  ancestry,  once  accus- 
tomed to  a  place,  will  not  run  away. 

"Canadas  begin  breeding  at  three  or  four  years  of  age, 
but  their  value  as  breeders  increases  definitely  with  age, 
for  young  pairs  are  so  erratic  in  this  respect  that  I  can 
guarantee  only  my  ten  to  fifteen  year  olds  mated  breed- 
ing pairs,  and  these  only  I  exchange  if  they  do  not  breed 
after  the  first  year  in  their  new  surroundings.  This  will 
explain  the  seeming  disparity  in  prices  of  young  and  old 
pairs;  young  pairs  are  suitable  for  decoys,  etc.,  but 
breeders  who  wish  to  get  quick  results  know  the  value 
of  these  old  pairs.  Canada  geese  are  easily  bred,  if  these 
few  essential  requirements  are  observed: 

"(1)  The  mated  pairs  should  be  in  their  breeding  quar- 
ters as  early  as  possible  before  the  laying  season  (March) 
begins. 

(2)  Small  knolls  should  be  thrown  up  in  the  pond,  two 
feet  above  the  water,  or  at  the  edge  of  the  pond,  and 
some  bushes  stuck  circularly  around  the  tops  which 
should  be  flat  and  large  enough  for  the  nests. 

"(3)  The  enclosure  should  contain  a  fresh  water  pond 
of  sufficient  depth  to  permit  their  sexual  intercourse 
while  swimming — usually  they  will  not  breed  otherwise. 

"(4)  Immunity  from  disturbance  by  dogs,  visitors,  chil- 
dren, etc.,  during  the  entire  breeding  period  is  very  im- 
portant. 

"(5)  Food:  Corn  alone  is  sufficient  for  the  adult  geese; 
coarse  yellow  cornmeal  for  the  wild  goslings."* 


•The   reader   should   remember   that   Mr.   Whealton's   birds   have   con- 
siderable liberty  and  undoubtedly  procure  mucli  natural  food. 


WILD  GEESE  137 

Mr.  Whealton  says  the  above  applies  as  well  to  the 
breeding  of  black  and  white  swan,  with  the  exception 
that  they  may  be  purchased  at  any  time  except  in  the 
coldest  weather;  the  white  swan  breed  in  the  late  spring 
and  the  black  Australians  irregularly  throughout  the 
year.* 

Mr.  Warren  R.  Leach,  whose  experience  in  the  breed- 
ing of  wild  water  fowl  (especially  the  Canada  or  common 
wild  goose)  extends  over  a  period  of  more  than  thirty 
years,  wrote  for  me  the  following  account  of  breeding 
wild  geese  in  captivity,  which  I  printed  in  The  Amateur 
Sportsman  (June,  1910)  : 

"It  was  some  time  in  the  seventies  that  my  brother 
called  my  attention  to  an  advertisement  of  a  party  in  Fort 
Dodge,  la.,  in  one  of  the  sporting  magazines  who  offered 
Canada  wild  geese  for  sale.  Geese  were  then  nesting 
plentifully  in  parts  of  that  State,  and  those  offered  for 
sale  were  goslings  captured  from  the  adjacent  sloughs.  I 
mention  the  pair  which  we  purchased  because  of  the  fre- 
quent statements  made  that  wild  geese  mate  for  life.  Un- 
doubtedly this  is  ordinarily  true,  but  there  are  exceptions. 
This  pair  never  nested,  and  we  finally  bought  another 
male  and  two  females.  The  Iowa  gander  promptly  se- 
lected one  of  the  new  females  for  a  wife,  and  they  raised 
young  for  years,  while  he  drove  his  former  mate  out  of 
his  sight  at  all  times.  She  never  mated  again  and  was 
evidently  a  barren  goose,  and  the  gander  undoubtedly  was 
aware  of  it. 

"In  1892  I  obtained  a  large  wild  gander  shot  from  a 


*Mr.  J.  W.  Whealton's  "List,  Description  and  Prices."  This  will  be 
sent  to  anyone  on  application  to  Whealton's  Wild  Water  Fowl  Farm, 
Chincoteague  Island,  Va. 


138  WILD  GEESE 

passing  flock.  Several  years  afterward  he  mated  with  a 
goose  which  laid  and  began  sitting.  He  then  went  across 
the  ravine  and  escorted  another  goose  to  a  promising  site, 
where  she  made  a  nest  and  also  laid  eggs. 

"About  this  time  I  obtained  a  goose  from  my  neighbor, 
Mr.  George  E.  Walker,  and  turned  her  out  in  the  lots. 
Imagine  my  surprise  when  the  old  Mormon  took  his  third 
wife,  and  they  raised  young  ones  the  same  season.  This 
mate  he  kept  for  years,  and  she  was  evidently  his  fa- 
vorite. 

"The  present  season  I  purchased  a  fine  eight-year-old 
pair  of  mated  Canadas  from  a  party  on  the  Atlantic 
coast  which  were  until  two  weeks  ago  contentedly  plan- 
ning to  raise  their  young.  They  sat  by  the  hour  on  a 
hummock  and  arranged  the  nest,  then  all  at  once  there 
was  a  disagreement  in  the  family.  The  old  fellow  has 
driven  his  wife  from  his  bed  and  board  and  will  not  allow 
her  near  him.  She  sits  disconsolate  by  herself  or  wanders 
away  to  the  vicinity  of  the  pen  in  which  are  the  unmated 
ganders,  which  run  squawking  to  the  fence  to  meet  her. 
Except  in  the  three  instances  above  cited  I  never  knew 
the  mated  pairs  to  be  unfaithful  among  the  full  bloods, 
although  at  the  present  time  I  have  one  old  Canada  gan- 
der who  has  two  wives — both  tame  geese — which  have 
separate  nests,  and  the  old  fellow  puts  in  all  his  time 
guarding  first  one,  then  the  other. 

"In  the  nesting  season  it  is  imperative  that  the  geese 
have  water  deep  enough  for  them  to  swim,  otherwise  the 
eggs  will  not  be  fertile.  In  small  enclosures  it  is  also 
necessary  to  have  a  light  but  close  fence  between  each 
breeding  pair  since  the  ganders  are  exceedingly  pugna- 
cious, fighting  all  others  near  them  and  sometimes  drag- 


WILD  GEESE  139 

ging  the  females  off  their  nests  and  driving  them  away. 
It  is  rarely  that  they  begin  laying  until  three  years  old, 
although  I  have  known  of  one  or  two  in  recent  years 
which  nested  when  two  years  old  and  raised  young.  The 
first  year  wild  geese  lay  four  or  five  eggs,  generally  five, 
and  as  they  get  older  they  will  sometimes  gradually  in- 
crease the  number  laid  to  six  or  eight  eggs. 

"The  period  of  incubation  is  from  twenty-eight  to  thirty 
days,  depending  somewhat  on  the  weather.  When 
hatched  the  old  goose  keeps  the  goslings  in  the  nest  until 
the  morning  of  the  second  day,  when  she  leads  them  out 
and  carefully  guides  them  to  where  they  can  pick  the 
fresh  grass  or  weeds.  No  feed  is  required  for  the  goslings 
at  any  time  if  there  is  a  pasture  or  grass  lawn  over  which 
they  can  roam.  While  I  feed  them  grain  it  is  merely 
to  make  the  geese  gentle  and  to  teach  them  to  stay  about 
closer. 

"All  my  young  geese  are  pinioned  when  small.  If  this 
is  done  before  the  wing  feathers  begin  to  grow  there  is 
scarcely  any  bleeding  from  the  operation.  There  are 
three  periods  each  year  in  which  the  domesticated  wild 
geese  are  disposed  to  wander  away.  Each  spring  and 
fall  as  the  flocks  pass  over  in  their  migrations  my  birds 
answer  to  the  call  of  the  wild.  Gathering  at  one  side  of 
the  enclosure,  they  stretch  their  necks  to  the  utmost. 
Slowly  they  give  out  their  gutteral  notes,  which  gradually 
are  sounded  faster  and  faster  until  finally,  with  discordant 
cries  and  a  beating  of  the  air  with  their  wings,  they  sweep 
to  the  farther  side  of  the  pasture.  Not  deterred  by  the 
failure  to  rise,  they  walk  back  and  the  performance  is  re- 
peated again  and  again. 

"There  is  another  period  when  they  seem  impelled  to 


140  WILD  GEESE 

travel  and  this  is  in  July,  provided  there  are  any  broods 
of  goslings.  Otherwise  they  do  not  seem  to  desire  to  go. 
Many  times  have  I  watched  them  walk  round  and  round 
hunting  for  a  loophole,  and  tight  indeed  must  be  the 
fence  if  they  do  not  find  one. 

"At  this  season  their  direction  of  travel  is  north-east- 
erly, and  I  never  found  them  going  in  any  other.  Why 
they  take  this  direction  at  this  time  has  never  been  clear 
to  me. 

"Wild  geese  are  exceedingly  afraid  of  dogs  and  will  not 
do  well  where  disturbed  by  them.  I  once  had  one  sitting 
on  seven  eggs  when  a  small  dog  came  into  the  yard  and 
began  playing,  running  in  circles,  each  one  larger  than  the 
one  before.  Finally,  in  one  grand  rush,  the  goose  was 
just  in  line,  and  the  dog,  which  had  not  seen  her  until  the 
last  moment,  jumped  clear  over  her.  The  dog  was  so 
scared  he  ran  home,  while  the  goose  flapped  screaming 
from  her  nest  and  began  running  at  top  speed.  She  con- 
tinued running  and  squalling  for  almost  a  day  and  a  half 
until -she  fell  exhausted  and  died  in  a  few  minutes.  This 
goose  was  raised  in  captivity  and  used  to  dogs  all  the 
nineteen  years  of  her  life,  yet  the  sudden  fright  was  more 
than  she  could  stand. 

"In  recent  years  I  have  found  that  one  can  get  a  second 
clutch  of  eggs  if  the  goose  is  shut  out  from  the  first  nest 
for  a  few  days  just  when  she  begins  to  feather  it.  It  is 
thus  possible  to  double  the  number  of  young  raised  each 
year,  which  is  indeed  quite  an  item  where  space  and  the 
number  of  birds  kept  does  not  permit  of  the  slower  way 
of  increasing  the  flock. 

"Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  few  geese  are  brought 
to  bag  by  the  gunners  of  the  present  day,  they  are  stead- 


WILD  GEESE  141 

ily  decreasing  in  numbers,  although  they  are  a  long-lived 
bird.  My  Canadas  range  in  age  from  three  years  up  to 
an  old  mated  pair  that  are  twenty-four  or  twenty-five 
years  old. 

"Mr.  J.  W.  Whealton  of  Chincoteague  Island,  Virginia, 
whom  I  consider  the  greatest  breeder  of  Canada  geese  at 
the  present  time,  has  made  a  complete  success  of  it,  and 
some  of  his  old  mated  pairs  have  been  breeding  for  more 
than  fifty  years.  It  is  a  matter  of  record  that  one  old 
gander  in  one  of  the  New  England  States  was  eighty 
years  old  when  the  owner  killed  it  because  it  had  become 
'mischievous.' 

"In  1907  the  writer  spent  the  entire  summer  in  Alaska, 
and  the  geese  were  breeding  by  the  thousands  in  the 
swamps  near  the  mouth  of  the  Copper  River.  The  young 
were  ruthlessly  slaughtered  by  the  Siwashes,  eaten  by  the 
vermin,  which  abounds  there,  and  otherwise  destroyed  in 
large  numbers  before  they  could  fly.  Some  day  in  the 
very  near  future  we  will  see  the  great  V  shaped  flocks  no 
more. 

"Who  has  not  felt  a  thrill  as  he  read  the  lines  of  Bryant 
in  his  'Ode  to  the  Waterfowl?'  'All  day  at  that  far 
height  thy  wings  have  fanned  the  cold,  thin  atmosphere,' 
yet  how  few  of  the  younger  generation  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi River  have  seen  them  of  recent  years  passing  over, 
high  in  air.  But  we  are  fortunate  in  that  these  noble 
game  birds  will  increase  in  captivity  and  still  retain  their 
health  and  all  their  wild  characteristics  year  after  year. 
There  is  no  reason  why  under  the  wise  provisions  of  the 
proposed  'breeders'  law'  they  should  not  be  found  all  over 
our  country,  both  for  ornamental  use,  for  sport  and  for 
the  market.  Such  legislation  certainly  will  not  decrease 


142  WILD  GEESE 

our  game,  but  will  greatly  increase  it.  Let  every  one 
join  the  ranks  of  those  who  are  striving  to  save  game 
birds  from  the  fate  of  the  buffalo  and  the  passenger 
pigeon." 

The  Canada  goose  breeds  in  the  North,  and  the  prin- 
cipal breeding  ground  seems  to  be  the  region  referred  to 
as  the  "ducks'  paradise." 

Mr.  Cooke,  who  is  an  authority  on  the  migration  of 
birds,  says  the  principal  summer  home  of  the  Canada 
goose  is  the  interior  of  Canada,  from  Saskatchewan  and 
Alberta  north  to  the  limit  of  trees.  Eastwardly  it  breeds 
commonly  in  the  interior  of  Ungava  and  rarely  on  the 
coast  as  far  north  as  Okak  and  Ungava  Bay.  It  is  not 
a  rare  breeder  in  Newfoundland,  and  is  fairly  common 
on  the  islands  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  thence 
west  through  Quebec  and  Northern  Ontario  to  the  south- 
ern end  of  James  Bay.  Any  occurrences  south  of  this 
district  must  be  considered  accidental  or  casual,  though 
it  has  been  recorded  as  nesting  at  Lexington,  Mass.,  April, 
1888,  and  once  at  Hartland,  Vt. 

In  the  interior  of  North  America  the  breeding  range 
extends  somewhat  farther  south.  A  hundred  years  ago 
the  species  bred  commonly  in  all  the  northern  third  of 
the  Mississippi  Valley  and  not  uncommonly  to  the  lati- 
tude of  St.  Louis.  Now  the  number  of  pairs  breeding 
south  of  the  latitude  of  central  Iowa  is  very  small,  though 
even  of  late  years  the  Canada  goose  has  been  known  to 
breed  at  Samburg  and  at  Reelfoot  Lake,  Tennessee,  which 
seem  to  be  the  most  southern  localities  known  east  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  A  few  breed  in  Kentucky,  and  the 
number  increases  slightly  in  Indiana  and  Illinois  and  the 
southern  third  of  Michigan  and  Wisconsin.  North  of  this 


WILD  GEESE  143 

and  throughout  much  of  Minnesota  the  species  is  a  regu- 
lar and  not  uncommon  summer  resident.  The  Canada 
goose  formerly  bred  in  Kansas;  now  it  breeds  rarely  in 
Nebraska  and  southern  South  Dakota ;  regularly  in  North 
Dakota  and  northward.  This  species  still  breeds  in  the 
northern  third  of  Colorado,  in  northern  Utah,  northern 
Nevada,  southern  Oregon  and  northward.  A  half  century 
ago  it  was  recorded  as  breeding  as  far  south  as  southern 
New  Mexico.  The  Western  boundary  of  the  breeding 
range  extends  from  the  interior  of  British  Columbia  to 
the  upper  Yukon  and  to  Fort  Yukon,  with  a  few  strag- 
glers west  to  the  Yukon  mouth.  The  reader  will  find  in- 
teresting tables  showing  the  dates  of  the  arrival  of  the 
Canada  goose  at  various  points  along  the  Atlantic  coast 
and  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  during  its  spring  and  fall 
migrations,  in  a  bulletin  issued  by  the  U.  S.  Biological 
Survey.* 

The  Hutchins  goose  is  similar  to  the  Canada  goose  in 
pattern,  color  and  markings,  but  somewhat  smaller.  This 
species  is  the  most  northern  of  the  several  forms  of  Can- 
ada goose  and  nests  from  Melville  Peninsula  north  to 
latitude  70°  and  west  along  the  shores  and  islands  of  the 
Arctic  coast  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  and  through 
the  interior  of  Alaska  to  the  Kowak  River.  Apparently 
it  does  not  breed  in  the  interior  of  North  America  south 
of  the  Barren  Grounds,  but  on  the  Pacific  coast  it  breeds 
in  the  valley  of  the  Kowak  River  and  south  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Knik  River;  also  abundantly  in  the  western  Aleu 
tian  and  on  the  Near  Islands.f 


'"Distribution  and  Migration  of  North  Am.  Ducks,  Geese  and  Swans.' 
By  Wells  W.  Cooke.    Bulletin  26,  Biological  Survey,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr. 
6  Ib. 


144  WILD  GEESE 

Other  American  wild  geese  are  the  Cackling  goose,  a 
bird  very  similar  to  the  Canada  goose,  only  smaller;  the 
Emperor  goose;  the  three  Snow  geese,  which  are  white 
as  the  name  indicates;  the  Blue  goose;  the  American 
White-fronted  goose  and  the  two  Brant.  All  of  these 
birds  breed  in  the  North  beyond  the  limits  of  the  United 
States,  and  comparatively  little  is  known  about  the 
breeding  habits  of  some  of  them. 

Mr.  Whealton  says  the  Brant  goose  thrives  in  captivity 
and  he  has  never  lost  one  by  disease.  Laying  only  in  the 
farthest  North,  no  degree  of  cold  found  in  our  latitudes 
affects  them,  while  they  endure  our  summers  like  tropical 
fowl. 

The  reader  will  find  all  of  the  geese  pictured  and  de- 
scribed in  my  book,  "Our  Feathered  Game."  Their  dis- 
tribution and  migration  is  exhaustively  discussed  by  Mr. 
Wells  W.  Cooke  in  his  bulletin,  to  which  I  have  re- 
ferred.* 

The  geese,  excepting  the  Canada  goose,  have  not  been 
bred  in  preserves. 


*  "Our  Feathered  Game."  New  York.  Charles  Scrlbner's  So»s.  Bulletin 
26,  Biological  Survey,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agr.  See  also  Eliot's  "Wild  Fowl  of 
North  America." 


XIX 

THE  SHOREBIRDS  OR  WADERS 

ALTHOUGH  the  shorebirds  cannot  be  artificially 
reared  on  game  farms  and  preserves  as  the  upland 
game  birds  and  some  of  the  wild  ducks  are,  much  can  be 
done  to  increase  their  numbers  when  breeding  wild.  Safe 
nesting  places  can  be  provided  for  the  woodcock,  snipe, 
plover,  sandpipers  and  the  other  species  of  waders  which 
nest  in  the  United  States  and  Canada,  and  it  is  evident 
that  the  birds  will  become  more  abundant  in  places  where 
their  natural  enemies  are  controlled  and  where  dogs, 
cats,  rats  and  trespassers  are  excluded  than  they  are  in 
places  where  they  receive  no  protection  of  any  kind  ex- 
cepting that  afforded  by  game  laws  which  are  not  ex- 
ecuted. I  have  observed  many  species  of  shorebirds 
breeding  abundantly  on  preserves  where  the  wild  ducks 
are  looked  after  properly,  and  they  evidently  respond 
nicely  to  the  protection  extended  to  the  ducks. 

The  enemies,  furry  and  feathered,  which  destroy  other 
game  destroy  also  the  shorebirds,  or  waders,  and  the 
common  house  cat  alone  is  sufficient  to  prevent  an  in- 
crease of  the  woodcock  in  many  places.  When  a  game- 
keeper persistently  controls  the  enemies  of  the  wild 
ducks  or  of  the  true  game  birds  on  the  upland  he  neces- 

146 


146          THE  SHOREBIRDS  OR  WADERS 

sarily  saves  many  woodcock  in  wooded  regions  where 
they  occur,  and  even  in  many  small  swamps  where  there 
are  alders,  willows  or  other  trees.  The  snipe  and  some 
of  the  plover  formerly  nested  in  many  marshes  which 
are  suitable  for  ducks. 

At  some  of  the  duck  clubs  where  wooded  lands  adjoin 
the  marshes  I  found  many  woodcock,  and  on  the  open 
marshes  I  saw  many  snipe,  all  of  which  had  been  bred 
within  the  preserves.  The  exclusion  of  trespassers  alone 
is  of  great  benefit  during  the  nesting  season,  and  at  the 
duck  clubs  the  snipe  often  become  numerous  and  very 
tame.  Many  of  the  gunners  prefer  to  shoot  the  larger 
ducks  and  the  snipe  often  are  not  shot  at  all. 

At  one  club  I  saw  large  numbers  of  snipe  and  several 
species  of  plover,  yellow-legs  and  other  waders,  and  I 
have  never  seen  game  birds  so  tame  as  these  birds  were, 
even  on  the  frontier  in  the  days  when  the  gunners  shot 
big  game  only. 

Those  who  are  inclined  to  oppose  the  preserves  for 
selfish  reasons  do  not  realize  that  large  numbers  of  mi- 
gratory wading  birds  as  well  as  fowl  are  reared  on  pre- 
serves and  that  they  must  furnish  good  shooting  for 
some  one  when  they  migrate  Southward  in  the  autumn. 
Were  it  not  for  the  preserves  and  posted  farms  our  game 
would  have  vanished  far  more  rapidly  than  it  has,  and 
those  who  have  studied  the  situation  know  well  that  all 
game  must  be  properly  looked  after  and  given  a  chance 
to  multiply  or  it  will  vanish  from  the  earth,  provided 
field  sports  be  not  absolutely  prohibited.  Even  the  pro- 
hibition of  sport  cannot  save  some  of  the  most  desirable 
species.  There  will  be,  always,  some  illegal  shooting,  and 
the  cats  alone,  in  farming  regions,  upset  nature's  balance. 


o 


. 


THE  SHOREBIRDS  O.R  WADERS          147 

In  England,  plover  eggs  are  gathered  yearly  in  large 
numbers  and  sold  in  the  markets  without  apparently 
causing  a  diminution  in  the  number  of  these  birds.  In 
America  the  naturalists  and  sportsmen  agree  that  the 
upland  plover,  and  some  of  the  other  waders,  are  nearing 
extinction. 

Preserves  for  upland  game  and  for  wild  ducks  un- 
doubtedly will  save  these  birds  just  as  the  English  pre- 
serves have  saved  the  English  woodcock  and  other  wad- 
ers. Since  it  is  evident  that  it  cannot  be  long  before 
there  will  be  no  shorebird  shooting  for  anyone,  all  preju- 
dice against  the  individual  handling  and  preservation  of 
game  should  vanish.  There  is  no  danger  of  our  having 
too  many  preserves ;  the  country  is  too  big.  The  danger 
is  that  we  will  not  have  enough  of  them  in  time  to  save 
the  vanishing  game. 

The  woodcock  is  one  of  our  most  valuable  wild  food 
birds,  and  it  is  especially  interesting  to  sportsmen.  Al- 
though it  is  an  easy  matter  to  restore  the  grouse,  quail 
and  many  of  the  most  desirable  species  of  wild  fowl  and 
to  make  them  more  plentiful  than  they  ever  were  on  suit- 
able ground,  it  is  impossible  to  purchase  woodcock  and 
turn  them  down  in  the  covers  where  they  have  been  ex- 
tirpated or  even  to  feed  them  as  upland  game  is  fed  on 
game  farms  and  preserves.  Many  naturalists  and  sports- 
men seem  to  believe  that  nothing  can  be  done  to  save  this 
interesting  bird  excepting  to  enact  additional  laws  re- 
stricting the  sport  of  cock  shooting  and  prohibiting  the 
sale  of  the  birds  as  food.  Some  entertain  the  opinion  that 
the  woodcock  is  doomed  to  extinction. 

In  the  year  book  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture  for  1901,  Dr.  A.  K.  Fisher,  the  ornithologist 


148          THE  SHOREBIRDS  OR  WADERS 

of  the  Biological  Survey,  discussed  "two  vanishing  game 
birds — the  woodcock  and  the  wood-duck,"  and  his  article 
was  issued  by  the  department  as  a  reprint,  or  bulletin, 
and  widely  distributed.  Unless  strong  protective  meas- 
ures are  soon  adopted,  we  are  told,  the  woodcock  and  the 
wood-duck,  two  popular  and  valuable  game  birds,  will 
become  extinct.  "In  many  places,"  Dr.  Fisher  says, 
"where  twenty-five  years  ago  a  fair  shot  with  a  good  dog 
could  secure  forty  or  fifty  birds  in  a  day's  hunt,  it  is 
doubtful  if  ten  per  cent,  of  the  former  bag  could  be  ob- 
tained." 

There  are  thousands  of  suitable  covers  from  Maine  to 
the  Mississippi  Valley  and  as  far  West  as  Eastern  Kan- 
sas and  Nebraska  where  not  a  single  bird  can  be  found 
today  at  any  season  of  the  year,  and  the  places  where  the 
small  percentage  of  birds  named  can  be  obtained  are  com- 
paratively rare. 

I  have  seen  the  woodcock  as  plentiful  as  Frank  For- 
ester says  they  were.  The  younger  sportsmen  cannot 
imagine  how  abundant  they  were  a  few  years  ago  in  the 
Mississippi  Valley  and,  in  Forester's  time,  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  of  New  York  City.  Writing  of  the  shoot- 
ing in  Orange  County,  N.  Y.,  he  says  "the  numbers  I 
have  seen  are  incredible."  In  1839,  shooting  with  Mr. 
Ward,  of  Warwick,  who  weighed  above  three  hundred 
pounds  and  shot  with  a  single  barrelled  gun,  they  bagged 
in  three  successive  days,  fifty-seven,  seventy-nine  and 
ninety-eight  cock  over  a  single  brace  of  dogs,  not  begin- 
ning to  shoot  until  it  was  late  in  the  morning.  The  fol- 
lowing year,  shooting  with  a  friend  from  New  York  (with 
muzzle  loading  guns,  of  course),  the  bag  contained  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  birds  the  first  day  and  seventy 


THE  SHOREBIRDS  OR  WADERS          149 

birds  the  second  morning,  before  noon,  when  the  powder 
and  caps  gave  out. 

Although  it  is  a  bird  of  moderate  fecundity  (the  eggs 
are  seldom  more  than  four),  I  believe  it  is  possible  to 
make  the  woodcock  as  abundant  as  they  ever  were  and 
that  this  will  be  done  in  some  localities  within  a  very  few 
years.  The  prohibition  of  summer  shooting  undoubtedly 
has  produced  good  results,  since  it  has  checked  the  rapid 
disappearance  of  the  cock,  but  the  shooting  of  an  ever 
increasing  army  of  guns  undoubtedly  will  prevent  any 
rapid  increase  of  the  game  if  it  does  not  cause  a  steady 
reduction  in  its  numbers,  and  in  places  where  the  wet 
woods  are  drained  the  birds,  of  course,  must  vanish.  It 
is  well  known,  as  I  have  observed,  that  where  any  species 
of  game  becomes  scarce  its  natural  enemies  become  com- 
paratively superabundant,  and  the  result  of  such  condi- 
tions are  disastrous  even  in  the  absence  of  any  shooting. 
As  the  country  becomes  settled  the  domestic  enemies  of 
the  woodcock — dogs,  cats  and  rats — are  added  checks  to 
its  increase,  and  nature's  balance  is  upset  in  the  wrong 
direction.  Dr.  Fisher,  in  the  bulletin  cited,  says  it  is 
probable  that  the  cat,  red  squirrel,  sharp  shinned  hawk 
and  mink  are  among  the  most  important  natural  enemies 
of  the  woodcock.  To"  this  list  should  be  added  some  of 
the  other  hawks,  the  crow,  weasel,  skunk,  raccoon,  jay, 
snakes  and  owls.  Dogs  also,  running  at  large,  sadly  in- 
terfere with  the  nesting  woodcock  and  destroy  many 
young  birds,  and  rats  are  regarded  by  all  gamekeepers 
as  among  the  worst  pests. 

I  am  told,  repeatedly,  that  the  natural  enemies  of 
woodcock  and  other  game  were  abundant  when  the  game 
was  most  plentiful.  This  is  quite  true,  but  it  does  not 


150          THE  SHOREBIRDS  OR  WADERS 

disprove  the  fact  that  when  the  guns  and  the  cats  and 
other  domestic  vermin  are  added  to  the  ordinary  checks 
to  increase,  the  game  must  diminish  in  numbers  rapidly. 
Mr.  H.  P.  Clement,  of  Vermont,  told  me  recently  that  he 
saw  a  cat  bring  a  woodcock  up  to  the  porch.  My  cat 
brought  in  robins  and  a  flicker,  or  golden  woodpecker, 
last  summer  and  was  very  active  until  it  lost  its  life 
on  account  of  the  flicker.  Cats  have  an  open  seanson 
throughout  the  year,  and  the  destruction  of  birds  by  these 
animals  is  appalling.  Their  depredations  can  be  stopped, 
however,  and  they  will  be  when  it  pays  to  do  so.  The 
wilder  enemies  of  the  woodcock  can  be  controlled,  partly 
at  least  (they  never  have  been  fully  checked,  even  in  Eng- 
land), and  the  result  of  such  control  instantly  will  be 
evident. 

Not  long  ago  I  went  to  visit  a  game  preserve  a  few 
miles  from  New  York  City,  where  the  wild  ducks  are  tre- 
mendously abundant,  thousands  of  these  birds  having 
been  artificially  reared  by  a  Scotch  gamekeeper  last 
spring.  As  a  result  of  the  protection  given  to  the  ducks 
the  woodcock  have  returned  in  good  numbers,  and  they 
nested  in  perfect  security  last  season  in  the  little  swamps 
all  over  the  preserve.  The  gamekeeper,  in  order  to  show 
that  a  setter  which  he  had  been  breaking  was  well  trained, 
took  him  into  a  little  alder  brake  not  far  from  the  house, 
and  he  pointed  one  woodcock  after  another  in  fine  style. 
A  dozen  or  more  birds  were  flushed  on  a  very  small  area. 
One  of  the  birds  was  shot  to  prove  that  the  dog  would 
retrieve  it,  which  he  did  handsomely.  I  am  quite  sure 
there  would  not  be  a  woodcock  on  the  place  were  it  not 
for  the  practical  protection  afforded.  The  region  is 
thickly  settled,  and  in  the  absence  of  a  gamekeeper  the 


THE  SHOREBIRDS  OR  WADERS          151 

ground  would  be  overrun  with  stray  dogs  and  cats,  to 
say  nothing  about  trespassers.  The  place  would  be  un- 
tenable for  nesting  birds,  and  if  any  stopped  to  feed  in 
the  autumn  they  would  be  shot  to  the  point  of  extinction. 
At  the  present  rate  of  increase  the  birds  on  the  preserve 
soon  should  be  as  abundant  as  they  were  a  little  to  the 
northward,  where  Forester  made  the  big  bags  I  have 
mentioned.  Sportsmen  should  remember  that  in  all 
probability  there  would  be  no  woodcock  on  the  ground 
for  anyone  in  the  absence  of  practical  protection  (for  this 
reason  no  one  is  damaged),  and  a  good  number  of  the 
birds  reared  will  migrate  and  afford  sport  on  free  terri- 
tory. As  the  Game  Commissioner  of  Colorado  well  said, 
writing  about  the  benefits  of  the  preserve  system  which 
is  encouraged  by  sensible  laws  in  Colorado,  many  guns 
shoot  on  the  preserve  which  otherwise  would  shoot  on 
the  public  range,  and  this  is  beneficial  to  the  public  game. 
The  markets  also  are  filled  with  game  without  loss  to  the 
game  which  is  not  properly  looked  after. 

On  some  of  the  Western  duck  preserves  I  found  the 
woodcock,  snipe  and  other  waders  breeding  abundantly 
because  of  the  protection  given  to  other  game.  A  wood- 
cock, flying  across  the  track,  was  killed  by  a  train  in 
front  of  the  club  house  of  the  Redden  Quail  Club,  in  Dela- 
ware, while  I  was  sitting  on  the  porch.  At  the  duck  clubs 
I  noted  that  the  woodcock,  snipe,  yellow-legs  and  other 
waders  seldom  were  shot,  since  the  owners  of  the  pre- 
serves are  duck  shooters. 

On  a  nut  plantation  in  Connecticut  both  quail  and 
woodcock  breed  every  year  because  trespassers  are  kept 
out,  and  the  vermin  is  partially  controlled  by  the  nut 
grower,  who  formerly  was  an  ardent  sportsman. 


152          THE  SHOREBIRDS  OR  WADERS 

The  woodcock  are  not  found  in  the  depths  of  large  for- 
ests, and  the  reduction  of  vast  forested  areas  to  small 
wooded  tracts,  many  of  which  contain  swampy  places 
where  the  food  of  the  woodcock  abounds,  increases  the 
area  suitable  for  cock  shooting. 

The  earth  worm  is  the  staple  food  of  both  the  snipe 
and  the  woodcock,  and  although,  as  I  have  said,  it  is  not 
practical  to  feed  the  woodcock,  I  can  furnish  a  useful 
hint  for  those  who  may  undertake  their  practical  salva- 
tion— the  natural  food  of  the  woodcock  can  be  increased. 

Often  I  have  observed  that  the  Wilson's  snipe  were 
plentiful  in  pastures  and  on  wet  prairies  where  cattle  were 
feeding.  I  was  inclined  to  believe  that  the  tramping  of 
the  cattle  made  the  ground  especially  suitable  for  the  bor- 
ing of  the  snipe  in  their  search  for  food.  I  now  believe 
the  manuring  of  the  ground  causes  an  increase  in  the 
number  of  earth  worms,  and  this  fact  seems  to  have  been 
proven  by  a  California  duck  club  which  transformed  a 
salt  marsh,  where  there  were  no  snipe,  into  a  good  shoot- 
ing place  by  damming  out  the  salt  water  and  manuring 
the  ground.  The  food  for  woodcock  in  small  brakes 
might  be  increased  in  the  same  manner.  If  the  wet  woods 
be  enclosed  with  a  wire  netting  and  some  pools  be  made 
it  would  be  an  easy  matter  to  introduce  the  other  "van- 
ishing bird"  mentioned  in  Dr.  Fisher's  bulletin — the  beau- 
tiful wood-duck — and  to  make  it  abundant  in  the  same 
ground  with  the  woodcock.  The  place  should  be  kept 
absolutely  quiet  during  the  nesting  season,  and  all  vermin 
should  be  controlled.  Arrangements  have  been  made  for 
some  very  interesting  experiments  with  these  birds  next 
season  on  some  good  cock  grounds  very  near  New  York 
City. 


THE  SHOREBIRDS  OR  WADERS          153 

All  of  the  shorebirds,  or  waders,  are  pictured  and  de- 
scribed in  "Our  Feathered  Game,"  and  the  reader  will 
there  find  a  brief  mention  of  their  habitat.  Like  other 
game  birds,  the  shorebirds  which  formerly  nested  in  any 
locality  are  the  easiest  ones  to  restore  and  make  abundant. 
Many  birds  which  never  are  seen  at  present  will  return 
to  safe  nesting  grounds  when  they  learn  that  they  will  be 
properly  looked  after  and  protected.  If  they  appear  in 
small  numbers  they  should  be  encouraged  to  remain  and 
nest. 

The  distribution  and  migration  of  the  North  American 
shorebirds  is  exhaustively  discussed  by  Mr.  Wells  W. 
Cooke  in  Bulletin  35,  Biological  Survey,  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture. 

The  Wilson's  snipe,  one  of  the  most  valuable  shore- 
birds  for  sporting  and  economic  purposes,  has  been  driven 
away,  like  the  ducks,  from  many  localities,  by  the  drain- 
ing of  the  marshes.  When  it  becomes  known  that  the 
snipe  and  ducks,  which  can  be  reared  on  many  wet  lands, 
are  worth  more  than  any  crop  which  can  be  produced  on 
the  same  ground,  I  believe  some  of  the  snipe  lands  will 
be  preserved  for  sport  and  for  profit.  The  snipe  breeds 
in  many  of  the  Northern  States,  and  the  number  of  breed- 
ing birds  can  be  increased,  undoubtedly,  in  places  where 
the  snipe  now  nests.  The  breeding  range  of  the  snipe 
and  some  other  species  possibly  can  be  extended  South- 
ward by  the  practical  protection  which  is  extended  by 
gamekeepers. 

The  upland  plover,  or  Bartram's  sandpiper,  is  one  of 
the  best  shorebirds  for  the  table,  and  it  is  pursued  eagerly 
by  sportsmen.  It  inhabits  the  plains,  prairies  and  fields 
and  is  seldom  found  near  water.  I  have  seen  these  birds 


154          THE  SHOREBIRDS  OR  WADERS 

very  abundant  on  the  Western  prairies,  but,  like  the 
prairie  grouse,  they  have  vanished  absolutely  from  vast 
regions  and  are  never  seen  in  many  counties  where  they 
once  were  most  plentiful.  Mr.  Cooke  says  early  in  the 
settlement  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  much  more  than  half 
the  upland  plovers  probably  nested  within  the  boundaries 
of  the  United  States.  The  center  of  abundance  during 
the  breeding  season  was  the  prairie  region  from  Kansas 
to  Manitoba.  The  numbers  were  not  greatly  diminished 
so  long  as  this  region  was  used  for  stock  purposes,  but 
recently  the  birds  have  rapidly  decreased. 

When  it  pays  to  preserve  the  prairie  grouse  the  upland 
plover  will  be  protected  undoubtedly,  and  many  of  these 
splendid  food  birds  can  be  shot  by  those  who  go  afield 
for  the  grouse.  The  upland  plover  once  were  abundant 
in  New  England  and  on  Long  Island,  N.  Y.  They  will 
return  in  increasing  numbers  when  some  of  their  nesting 
grounds  are  preserved. 

The  three  most  valuable  waders  for  sport  are  undoubt- 
edly the  woodcock,  Wilson's  snipe  and  the  upland  plover, 
and  it  is  fortunate  that  these  birds  can  be  saved  and  made 
abundant  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States.  The 
larger  plovers,  sandpipers  and  curlews  for  the  most  part 
breed  north  of  the  United  States,  but  these  birds  and 
many  of  the  smaller  species,  which  are  not  interesting  to 
sportsmen,  will  be  much  benefitted  when  game  preserves 
within  our  borders  become  numerous.  They  will  find 
safe  refuges  from  persecution  upon  their  Southern  migra- 
tion, since  they  will  not  be  shot  in  large  numbers  in 
places  where  the  grouse,  ducks,  quail  and  other  more  de- 
sirable game  birds  are  plentiful.  Some  years  ago  when  I 
used  to  shoot  ducks  in  North  Dakota  the  yellow-legs, 


THE  SHOREBIRDS  OR  WADERS          155 

golden  plover  and  many  other  shorebirds  were  very 
abundant.  I  shot  several  dozen  of  these  birds  one  after- 
noon beside  a  small  lake,  but  when  I  returned  to  the  army 
post,  where  I  was  stopping,  I  found  it  impossible  to  give 
them  away.  Larger  game  birds,  including  prairie  grouse 
and  wild  ducks,  were  very  plentiful,  and  no  one  could  be 
found  willing  to  pluck  and  cook  the  waders.  For  this 
reason  I  ceased  shooting  them. 

The  same  condition  existed  in  the  Eastern  States  when 
the  heath  hens,  wild  turkeys  and  canvas  backs  brought 
only  a  few  cents  in  the  markets.  When  we  make  the  most 
desirable  game  birds  abundant  and  cheap  the  shorebirds 
will«be  comparatively  safe  from  harm  in  many  places, 
and  they  will  be  in  no  danger  of  extirpation. 


XX 

REMEDIAL 

"DEFORE  discussing  the  amendments  to  the  game 
•^  laws  which,  in  my  opinion,  are  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  make  the  wild  food  birds  abundant  and  cheap  in 
the  markets,  I  wish  to  say  that  I  am  not  opposed  to  many 
of  the  restrictive  game  laws  now  on  the  books.  Laws 
which  shorten  the  season,  limit  the  bag  and  prohibit  the 
sale  of  game  tend  to  delay  its  extirpation,  undoubtedly, 
and  they  are  necessary  in  places  where  no  one  looks  after 
the  game  properly.  As  the  game  vanishes  it  will  be 
necessary,  from  time  to  time,  to  increase  the  restrictions 
of  field  sports  and  to  prohibit  shooting  for  periods  of 
years.  The  laws,  however,  can  be  amended  so  as  to  per- 
mit and  encourage  the  profitable  breeding  of  game  with- 
out in  any  way  interfering  with  the  present  laws  restrict- 
ing sport,  and  the  result  of  such  legislation  will  be  bene- 
ficial not  only  to  game  breeders  but  to  those  who  do 
nothing. 

The  present  game  laws,  which  prevent  the  breeding  of 
game  on  the  farms  and  other  private  lands,  are  neither 
uniform  nor  permanent.  Any  one  who  is  familiar  with 
the  legislation  in  any  State  must  be  aware  that  every 
year  (when  the  Assembly  meets)  many  new  bills  regu- 

156 


ENGLISH    WILD    FOWLER,    OR    MARKET    GUNNER 


REMEDIAL  157 

lating,  and  usually  restricting,  the  taking  of  game  are 
introduced,  and  often  many  of  them  are  enacted. 

The  Governor  of  a  New  England  State  informed  me 
not  long  ago  that  one-tenth  of  the  legislation  of  his  State 
related  to  fish  and  game,  and  recently  I  read  a  magazine 
article  which  contained  the  statement  that  about  one- 
half  of  the  legislative  work  of  a  Western  State  related  to 
fish  and  game.  About  eighty  new  game  laws  actually 
were  enacted  in  North  Carolina  in  1909,  and  many  more, 
no  doubt,  were  introduced,  debated  and  rejected. 

The  industry  of  game  law  making  seems  to  be  on  the 
increase  almost  everywhere  in  the  United  States,  and  it 
would  seem  absolutely  ludicrous  were  it  not  for  the  fact 
that  a  vast  number  of  fanciful,  petty  crimes  are  created 
which  are  not  founded  on  the  legal  principles  which 
should  underlie  all  criminal  enactments.*  The  number 
of  crimes  has  grown  so  large  that  even  the  best  lawyers 
do  not  pretend  to  know  them  all. 

The  game  birds  evidently  do  not  increase  in  numbers, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  many  desirable  species  seem  to  be 
in  danger  of  extirpation  more  and  more  as  the  new  crimes 
are  made,  and  it  is  evident  to  all  who  are  familiar  with 
the  laws  and  with  the  condition  of  the  game  that  our 
game  laws  are  not  satisfactory. 

The  wild  fowl,  as  I  have  observed,  must  diminish  in 
numbers  in  populous  regions  where  the  marshes  are 
drained  and  in  all  places  where  domestic  vermin  and 
trespassers,  in  addition  to  the  wilder  enemies  of  the  ducks, 
prevent  the  ducks  from  nesting — no  matter  how  many  laws 
restricting  sport  may  be  enacted.  It  is  an  easy  matter,  as  I 
have  observed,  for  individuals  to  increase  the  numbers  of 

*See  article  on  "Game  Law  Crimes"  in  The  Independent,  July  2,  1908. 


158  REMEDIAL 

both  the  wild  fowl  and  the  waders  in  places  where  the 
natural  conditions  are  favorable  or  where  they  are  made 
so  by  private  effort.  But  no  one  can  be  expected  to  do 
anything  which  does  not  pay.  It  is  evident  that  the  State 
game  officers  cannot  produce  game  to  advantage  on 
private  lands,  where  they  are  not  even  permitted  to  enter, 
a"nd  that  they  cannot  restore  the  wild  fowl  and  waders  to 
public  grounds  and  waters  where  the  birds  cannot  nest 
by  reason  of  the  want  of  the  necessary  seclusion  and 
safety. 

The  existing  laws  have  failed  not  only  to  keep  the  mar- 
kets full  of  game  at  reasonable  prices,  but  also  to  afford 
good  sport  for  the  sportsmen. 

Game  is  a  desirable  food,  and  our  wild  birds  are  the 
best  in  the  world,  both  for  the  table  and  for  sport.  Not 
long  ago  they  were  tremendously  abundant,  and  I  have 
no  doubt  that  some  species  can  be  and  will  be  made  far 
more  plentiful  than  they  ever  were  and  that  they  will 
become  an  important  part  of  our  food  supply. 

A  big  economic  question  is  presented,  and  it  requires 
an  able  statesman  to  handle  it,  since  some  small  politi- 
cians seem  to  believe  that  the  game  must  be  utilized  to 
produce  a  big  revenue  and  positions  for  many  office  hold- 
ers and  that  to  change  the  system  might  be  disastrous 
from  a  political  point  of  view.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
farmers  and  many  intelligent  sportsmen  and  naturalists 
now  entertain  the  opinion  that  the  profitable  increase  of 
game  on  private  lands  should  be  encouraged,  and  if  the 
issue  ever  is  fairly  presented  I  feel  sure  that  the  people 
will  pass  upon  it  rightly  at  the  polls. 

In  a  number  of  States  the  State  game  officers  seem  to 
have  abandoned  our  indigenous  game,  and  they  are  de- 


REMEDIAL  159 

voting  their  energies  to  the  substitution  of  foreign  spe- 
cies, but  without  good  results.  It  seems  evident  that 
comparatively  tame  birds  cannot  be  expected  to  survive 
in  places  where  the  wilder  birds,  which  are  better  suited 
to  their  environment,  have  perished. 

Admitting  that  the  laws  which  shorten  the  season 
limit  the  bag  and  prohibit  the  sale  of  game  do  some 
good,  since  they  delay  the  extirpation  of  our  indigenous 
wild  food  birds,  we  must  also  admit  that  the  laws  do 
much  harm  since  they  practically  prevent  the  profitable 
increase  of  game  by  breeders.  No  one  can  be  expected 
to  rear  game  so  long  as  he  is  only  permitted  to  take  three 
of  his  birds  in  a  season  and  so  long  as  he  cannot  safely 
transport  them  or  dispose  of  them. 

The  game  laws  appear  to  be  especially  inimical  to  the 
farmers,  since  in  many  States  they  cannot  either  rent 
their  shooting  to  advantage  nor  sell  any  game  which  may 
be  produced  on  the  farm.  Since  the  farmers  have  the 
right  to  exclude  trespassers  and  are  enforcing  this  right 
in  many  places,  it  would  seem  desirable  for  sportsmen 
as  well  as  farmers  to  have  the  laws  amended  so  as  to 
make  it  profitable  to  rear  game  on  the  posted  farms. 
Those  willing  to  deal  fairly  with  the  farmers  undoubtedly 
can  obtain  permission  to  breed  game  on  the  farms  and 
when  they  do  a  large  number  of  sportsmen  will  shoot  on 
places  which  are  now  closed  to  all  shooting,  and  the 
shooting  on  free  territory  will  be  benefitted. 

A  breeders'  law  should  be  enacted  in  every  State  to 
encourage  the  profitable  breeding  of  game.  It  should 
define  the  breeders,  and  they  should  secure  a  license  from 
the  State  game  department  permitting  them  to  own  the 
game  reared  and  to  shoot  it  without  restrictions  during 


160  REMEDIAL 

a  long  open  season  and  to  sell  all  or  any  part  of  it  to 
licensed  dealers  under  regulations  which  should  provide 
for  the  listing  and  identification  of  the  game  sold. 

Such  laws  are  easily  executed  in  all  countries  which 
have  game,  and  the  system  has  been  found  to  work  well 
in  Colorado  and  elsewhere  in  America  where  it  has  been 
tried. 

The  able  Game  Commissioner  of  Colorado  has  well 
said  the  sale  of  game  and  game  fish  from  the  licensed 
parks  and  lakes  in  Colorado  has  put  the  market  gunners 
out  of  business,  and  the  people  are  supplied  with  game 
for  their  tables. 

All  naturalists,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  and  most  of  the 
intelligent  sportsmen  in  America  who  have  carefully 
considered  this  important  question  have  declared  in  fa- 
vor of  amendments  to  the  laws  permitting  the  profitable 
increase  of  game  by  breeders.  The  Bureau  of  Biological 
Survey  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  favors 
such  legislation,  and  it  seems  probable  that  the  laws  soon 
will  be  amended  so  as  no  longer  to  prevent  the  profitable 
increase  of  a  desirable  food.  I  am  firmly  of  the  opinion 
that  in  a  very  few  years  North  America  will  become  the 
biggest  game  producing  country  in  the  world.* 


*The  history  of  American  game  laws  and  their  merit  and  weakness,  and 
the  needed  changes  in  the  laws  are  fully  discussed  in  an  article  which  I 
wrote  for  The  Cyclopedia  of  Agriculture,  Vol.  4.  The  Macmillan  Co.,  N.  Y. 


APPENDIX 

THE  following  accounts  of  the  distribution  and  mi- 
gration of  the  wild  ducks  which  are  desirable  as 
food  were  written  by  Wells  W.  Cooke,  an  assistant  of  the 
Biological  Survey,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  (pub- 
lished as  Bulletin  No.  26.)  The  mergansers,  scoters, 
eiders,  etc.,  are  shot  by  gunners  and  sometimes  eaten, 
but  they  are  not  desirable  as  food  and  will  not  be  bred 
for  sport  or  for  profit. 

In  his  introduction  Mr.  Cooke  says :  "The  economic 
value  and  importance  of  the  birds  as  food  are  very  great. 
The  flesh  not  only  is  palatable  and  nutritious,  but  is  so 
different  from  that  of  domestic  fowls  as  to  form  a  most 
welcome  addition  to  the  table  of  the  rich  and  the  poor." 

Those  who  undertake  to  propagate  the  species  which 
thus  far  have  not  been  successfully  bred  on  game  farms 
and  preserves  can  study  the  breeding  range  of  the  various 
species  to  advantage. 

Ducks  undoubtedly  can  be  more  easily  reared  in  places 
where  they  now  occur,  or  where  they  nested  formerly, 
than  in  places  remote  from  their  habitat,  but  I  have  no 
doubt  the  breeding  range  of  many  species  can  be  much 
extended  by  breeders  and  game  preservers  and  that  many 
species  which  are  not  artificially  reared  may  be  success- 

161 


162  APPENDIX 

fully  handled ;  and  if  so  the  result  of  such  industry  will 
be  highly  profitable. 

Mr.  Cooke  says  the  principal  causes  of  the  diminished 
numbers  of  water  fowl  have  been  market  hunting,  spring 
shooting  and  the  destruction  of  the  breeding  grounds  for 
farming  purposes. 

Market  shooting  safely  can  be  resumed,  of  course, 
when  the  birds  are  reared  in  large  numbers,  and  the  de- 
struction of  the  breeding  grounds  can  be  prevented  when 
it  appears  that  the  duck  crop  is  valuable.  Spring  shoot- 
ing will  not  be  done  by  breeders,  of  course. 

The  distribution  and  migration  of  the  ducks  desirable 
for  food  as  given  by  Mr.  Cooke  is  as  follows : 

Anas  boschas  Linn.     Mallard. 

Breeding  Range. — The  northern  half  of  the  United 
States  west  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  whole  of  Canada 
west  of  Hudson  Bay,  constitute  the  principal  breeding 
range  in  the  Western  Hemisphere  of  the  mallard — the 
commonest  duck  on  the  North  American  continent  and 
probably  in  the  world.  In  eastern  North  America  the 
place  of  the  mallard  is  taken  by  the  black  duck,  and  the 
former  is  rather  rare,  though  a  few  breed  in  eastern  On- 
tario about  Lake  Erie,  locally  in  western  New  York  and 
south  to  Maryland.  Though  unknown  as  a  breeder  on 
the  mainland  east  of  Hudson  Bay,  the  mallard  is  rather 
common  in  Greenland,  breeding  north  to  Godthaab  and 
Angmagsalik  and  wandering  to  Upernavik.  Throughout 
New  England  and  the  Maritime  Provinces  it  is  a  rare 
migrant,  and  while  some  of  the  records  of  its  breeding  in 
these  districts  may  be  correct,  it  is  no  more  than  a  casual 
summer  resident. 


APPENDIX  163 

In  the  interior  the  breeding  range  extends  regularly 
south  to  latitude  41°  and  a  few  breed  south  to  southern 
Indiana,  southern  Illinois,  central  Missouri  and  southern 
Kansas.  The  breeding  range  bends  south  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains  to  southern  New  Mexico  and  on  the  Pacific 
coast  to  Lower  California  (San  Pedro  Martir  Moun- 
tains.) 

The  breeding  range  extends  north  to  Fort  Churchill,  to 
the  Arctic  coast  in  the  Mackenzie  Valley  and  to  Kotzebue 
Sound  and  the  Fur  Seal  Islands  in  Alaska. 

The  mallard  is  one  of  the  earliest  birds  to  breed.  The 
nesting  season  extends  from  early  April  in  southern  Cali- 
fornia and  the  first  week  of  May  in  northern  Indiana,  to 
early  June  in  the  Mackenzie  Valley  and  the  Yukon  Delta, 
and  the  last  week  of  June  in  Greenland. 

It  is  one  of  the  common  ducks  of  the  Old  World,  breed- 
ing in  the  Northern  Hemisphere  and  ranging  south  in 
winter  to  central  Africa  and  southern  Asia. 

Winter  Range. — The  mallard  is  a  fresh  water  duck, 
and  in  general  it  winters  as  far  north  as  open  fresh  water 
is  found.  The  greater  number  spend  the  winter  in  the 
southern  half  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  for  many 
years  this  was  the  source  of  a  large  part  of  the  market 
supply.  The  numbers  killed  were  almost  incredible.  Big 
Lake,  Arkansas,  was  and  still  is  one  of  the  favorite  re- 
sorts, and  during  the  winter  of  1893-94  a  single  gunner 
sold  8,000  mallards,  while  the  total  number  sent  to  mar- 
ket from  this  one  place  amounted  to  120,000.  Fortu- 
nately both  Arkansas  and  Missouri  now  forbid  market 
shooting,  and  this  deplorable  slaughter  has  been  de- 
cidedly lessened.* 

*The  Biological  Survey  now  favors  the  sale  of  game  by  breeders. 


164  APPENDIX 

This  species  winters  casually  in  eastern  Massachusetts 
and  central  New  York,  accidentally  in  Nova  Scotia  and 
regularly  from  Virginia  to  northern  Florida.  It  is  less 
common  in  central  Florida  and  has  been  recorded  in  the 
Bermudas,  Bahamas,  Cuba,  Jamaica,  Grenada,  Carria- 
cou,  Panama  and  Costa  Rica.  Most  of  these  localities 
have  only  one  record  each,  showing  that  the  mallard  is 
only  a  straggler  to  the  southeast  of  the  United  States. 
There  seems  to  be  no  record  for  Central  America  from 
Costa  Rica  to  Mexico.  The  species  is  a  common  winter 
resident  of  northern  Mexico  and  ranges  south  to  Jalapa, 
the  Valley  of  Mexico,  Colima  and  southern  Lower  Cali- 
fornia. 

The  northern  winter  limit  in  the  interior  is  in  Ohio, 
northern  Indiana,  southern  Wsconsin,  Nebraska,  Wyom- 
ing and  central  Montana.  The  species  is  common  in  win- 
ter along  the  whole  Pacific  coast  as  far  north  as  the  Aleu- 
tian Islands. 

Spring  Migration. — It  is  among  the  earliest  of  ducks  to 
move  northward  and  forms  a  large  proportion  of  the  early 
flocks.  The  portion  of  the  central  Mississippi  Valley 
that  forms  the  extreme  winter  range  is  invaded  by  the 
spring  migrants  the  latter  part  of  February;  Frankfort, 
Ind.  (average  for  ten  years),  Feb.  21;  central  Illinois 
(twelve  years),  Feb.  22;  central  Missouri  (sixteen  years), 
Feb.  26;  Keokuk,  la.  (nine  years),  Feb.  24;  southern 
Kansas  (eleven  years),  Feb.  18;  southern  Nebraska  (five 
years),  Feb.  19.  Just  north  of  the  winter  range  average 
dates  of  spring  arrival  are :  Erie,  Pa.,  March  5 ;  central 
New  York,  March  23;  Oberlin,  O.,  March  21;  southern 
Michigan,  March  9;  southern  Ontario,  March  24;  Ot- 
tawa, Ont.,  March  27;  Chicago,  111.  (eleven  years),  March 


APPENDIX  165 

19;  southern  Wisconsin  (twelve  years),  March  21 ;  Spirit 
Lake,  Iowa,  March  10;  Heron  Lake,  Minnesota,  March 
11;  central  South  Dakota  (fourteen  years),  March  16; 
Larimore,  N.  D.  (twelve  years),  March  28;  Terry,  Mont., 
March  26.  The  mallard  crosses  into  central  Canada  early 
in  April,  and  the  average  date  of  arrival  at  Aweme,  Man. 
(ten  years),  is  April  3  (earliest,  March  24,  1905)  ;  Qu' 
Appelle,  Saskatchewan  (six  years),  April  10  (earliest, 
March  26,  1905.)  The  earliest  migrants  were  seen  at 
Fort  Resolution  May  7,  1860;  near  Fort  Providence, 
April  27,  1904;  Fort  Simpson,  May  3,  1904;  Kowak  River, 
Alaska,  May  17,  1899. 

The  last  one  seen  in  1892  at  Shellmound,  Miss.,  was  on 
April  5;  in  northern  Texas  one  was  seen  as  late  as  May 
6,  1889.  In  central  Missouri,  where  a  few  remain  to 
breed,  the  average  date  when  the  last  migrants  are  seen  is 
March  28. 

Fall  Migration. — In  the  fall  this  species  returns  with  the 
general  mass  of  ducks,  and  the  average  date  of  its  arrival 
at  Alexandria,  Va.,  is  Sept.  21  (earliest,  Aug.  28,  1896)  ;  it 
becomes  common  Oct.  27;  at  Chicago,  111.,  Sept.  27;  Grin- 
nell,  la.,  Sept.  17,  and  in  northern  Texas  Oct.  11.  The 
first  one  was  noted  at  San  Angelo,  Tex.,  Aug.  10,  1883, 
and  at  Austin,  Tex.,  Sept.  1,  1893. 

The  mallard  is  one  of  the  moderately  hardy  ducks  and 
remains  in  the  north  until  the  lakes  begin  to  freeze.  Ave- 
rage dates  when  the  last  were  seen  are :  Montreal,  Can., 
Oct.  26  (latest,  Nov.  13,  1897) ;  Scotch  Lake,  New  Bruns- 
wick, Nov.  7;  Ottawa,  Ont.  (nine  years),  Nov.  5  (latest, 
Nov.  14,  1904) ;  Aweme,  Man.  (eight  years),  Nov.  12  (lat- 
est, Nov.  23,  1902)  ;  Chicago,  111.,  Nov.  13;  English  Lake, 
Indiana,  Dec.  9;  southern  Minnesota  (ten  years),  Nov. 


166  APPENDIX 

22  (latest,  Dec.  11,  1890);  central  Iowa  (twelve  years), 
Nov.  15  (latest,  Nov.  27,  1903) ;  central  Nebraska,  Nov. 
18  (latest,  Nov.  26,  1899.) 

Anas  obscura  Gmel.    Black  Duck. 

Breeding  Range. — The  group  of  "black,"  or  "dusky," 
ducks  comprises  several  species  which  closely  resemble 
each  other  and  which  have  been  distinguished  only  in  re- 
cent years.  The  black  duck  is  the  common  breeding  duck 
of  New  England  and  northern  New  York,  south  of  which 
it  breeds  not  rarely  on  Long  Island  and  locally  in  Penn- 
sylvania (Bradford  County),  New  Jersey  (Long  Beach), 
Delaware  and  Maryland  (Ocean  City,  Barrow  Springs.) 
To  the  westward  the  breeding  range  extends  south  to 
Ohio  (formerly),  Indiana  (Lake  County),  Illinois,  Iowa 
(Spirit  Lake)  and  Minnesota  (Kandiyohi  County.)  It 
breeds  rarely  and  locally  over  much  of  Wisconsin,  but 
breeds  more  commonly  in  Michigan  and  southern  On- 
tario. It  is  a  very  common  summer  resident  of  Quebec, 
New  Brunswick,  Nova  Scotia  and  the  islands  of  the  Gulf 
of  St.  Lawrence.  The  most  northern  points  at  which  it 
breeds  are  in  southern  Labrador  and  Newfoundland. 
Somewhere  in  Labrador  and  in  northern  Ontario  this 
form  meets  the  more  northern  form,  the  red-legged  duck 
(Anas  obscura  rubripes},  but  the  dividing  line  between  the 
two  is  unknown.  A  specimen  from  the  Straits  of  Belle 
Isle  is  obscura;  one  from  Okak,  Labrador,  is  intermediate 
and  one  from  Ungava  Bay,  only  a  few  miles  farther  north, 
is  rubripes. 

The  black  duck  breeds  so  early  that  young  have  been 
found  at  Old  Saybrook,  Conn.,  May  5,  and  eggs  at  Reho- 
both,  Mass.,  April  30. 


APPENDIX  167 

Winter  Range. — This  species  is  accidental  in  winter  in 
the  West  Indies  (Jamaica),  rare  in  the  Bermudas  and  rare 
in  central  Florida  (Gainesville)  and  also  in  Alabama. 
From  Georgia  northward  it  is  more  common,  and  from 
North  Carolina  to  New  Jersey  it  is  one  of  the  abundant 
winter  ducks.  Black  ducks,  including  both  A.  obscura 
and  A.  rubripes,  are  abundant  at  this  season  around  Long 
Island  and  on  the  shores  of  Rhode  Island  and  Massachu- 
setts, but  although  a  few  A.  obscura  winter  in  Massa- 
chusetts, the  greater  number  are  A.  rubripes.  West  of  the 
Alleghenies  there  is  uncertainty  as  to  which  form  pre- 
ponderates in  winter.  A.  obscura  is  a  tolerably  common 
winter  resident  of  Louisiana,  but  A.  rubripes  reaches  Ar- 
kansas, and  one  form  or  the  other  winters  as  far  north  as 
southern  Ohio,  southern  Indiana  and  southern  Illinois. 
In  migration  A.  obscura  is  rare  west  to  eastern  Nebraska 
(Fairmont,  Gresham,  Calhoun)  and  eastern  Kansas 
(Reno  County,  Wichita  and  Lawrence.)  Notes  on  the 
migration  of  this  species  are  for  the  most  part  included 
under  those  of  A.  rubripes. 

Anas  obscura  rubripes  Brewst.    Red-legged  Black  Duck. 

Breeding  Range. — As  stated  under  the  last  species,  a 
breeding  duck  from  Okak,  northeastern  Labrador,  is  con- 
sidered intermediate  between  this  form  and  A.  obscura, 
while  the  bird  breeding  at  Ungava  Bay  is  A.  rubripes. 
This  Ungava  Bay  record  seems  to  mark  the  northeastern 
limit  of  the  species  so  far  as  reported.  Thence  the  species 
extends  west  to  Hudson  Bay,  as  far  north  at  least  as  Fort 
Churchill,  and  is  rare  or  accidental  west  to  Manitoba 
(Long  Lake;  Lake  Manitoba,  Oct.  28,  1900;  Delta,  Sept. 
4,  1902,  September,  1903;  St.  Marks,  two,  October,  1902), 


168  APPENDIX 

and  to  Fort  Anderson.  The  southern  limit  of  the  breed- 
ing range  in  Ontario  has  not  yet  been  determined. 

Winter  Range. — Most  of  the  black  ducks  that  winter  in 
Massachusetts  are  A.  rubripes,  and  this  is  about  as  far 
north  as  the  species  commonly  winters.  Along  the  coast 
some  have  been  known  in  winter  as  far  north  as  Nova 
Scotia.  How  far  south  the  species  goes  has  not  yet  been 
determined,  but  it  is  common  on  the  coast  of  South  Caro- 
lina from  November  to  March,  and  a  specimen  was  taken 
in  Mississippi  County,  Ark.,  Nov.  5,  1887.  It  occurs  west 
to  Nebraska  (Greenwood,  Lincoln,  Calhoun)  and  un- 
doubtedly wanders  to  eastern  Kansas.  The  northern 
winter  limit  in  the  interior  is  probably  from  northwestern 
Pennsylvania  to  southern  Wisconsin. 

Spring  Migration. — It  is  impossible  to  separate  the  mi- 
gration records  of  A.  obscura  and  A.  rubripes.  The  fol- 
lowing migration  notes  probably  refer  for  the  most  part 
to  A.  rubripes,  because  that  form  winters  farther  north. 
In  March  extensive  northward  movements  of  black  ducks 
occur,  but  it  is  not  until  early  April  that  the  birds  pass 
beyond  the  usual  winter  range.  The  average  date  of  ar- 
rival for  seventeen  years  in  southern  Maine  is  April  7; 
the  earliest,  March  19,  1894;  the  average  date  for  Mont- 
real is  April  14,  and  March  27,  1889,  is  the  earliest ;  Que- 
bec, average,  April  18  (earliest,  April  6,  1896)  ;  Godbout, 
Quebec,  average,  April  21 ;  Prince  Edward  Island,  April 
23  (earliest,  April  5,  1898.)  Farther  west  the  average 
date  of  arrival  in  southern  Ontario  is  April  7  (earliest, 
March  16,  1901) ;  average  at  Ottawa,  April  14  (earliest, 
March  21,  1903.) 

Fall  Migration. — A  black  duck  was  seen  at  Washington, 
D.  C,  Aug.  1,  1887;  one  at  Alexandria,  Va.,  Aug.  14,  1886, 


APPENDIX  169 

and  one  at  Hog  Island,  Va.,  Aug.  20,  1886;  but  these  are 
unusually  early  records.  The  average  of  a  long  series  of 
excellent  records  at  Alexandria,  Va.,  is  Sept.  30  for  the 
arrival  of  the  first  and  Oct.  31  as  the  average  date  when 
they  become  common.  About  the  middle  of  October,  on 
the  New  England  coast,  they  become  common  enough  to 
usher  in  the  shooting  season.  These  dates,  of  course, 
apply  to  A.  obscura.  There  are  no  exact  records  of  the 
time  when  A.  rubripes  arrives  from  its  northern  breeding 
grounds,  but  it  is  supposed  that  it  reaches  New  England 
about  the  first  week  in  October.  In  winter  it  remains  as 
far  north  as  it  can  find  open  water.  The  average  date  when 
the  last  leave  Ottawa,  Ont.,  is  Nov.  7  (latest,  Nov.  21, 
1892) ;  average  at  Montreal,  Nov.  6  (latest,  Nov.  14, 
1896.)  The  last  one  was  seen  at  Prince  Edward  Island 
Nov.  13,  1889,  and  Dec.  8,  1890. 

Anas  fulvigula  Ridgw.  Florida  Duck. 
A  nonmigratory  species,  breeding  commonly  in  the 
southern  half  of  Florida,  and  less  commonly  in  the  north- 
ern portion.  It  seems  to  be  absent  from  northeastern 
Florida,  but  occurs  along  the  northwestern  coast  of  the 
State.  Nests  in  late  April  and  in  May,  but  sometimes 
much  earlier,  for  downy  young  have  been  seen  as  early 
as  April  6. 

Anas  fulvigula  maculosa  (Senn.)  Mottled  Duck. 
Resident  in  Texas  and  southern  Louisiana  (Lake  Ar- 
thur.) In  Texas  it  occurs  from  the  mouth  of  the  Rio 
Grande  northward  and  west  to  about  the  middle  of  the 
State.  It  is  accidental  in  Kansas  (Neosho  Falls,  March 
11,  1876.)  It  breeds  throughout  most  if  not  all  of  its 
Texas  range ;  the  eggs  are  deposited  in  April. 


170  APPENDIX 

Chaulelasmus  streperus  (Linn.)     Gadwall. 

Breeding  Range. — A  large  majority  of  the  North  Ameri- 
can individuals  of  this  species  breed  in  the  prairie  district 
extending  from  Manitoba  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  south 
to  western  Minnesota  and  from  northern  South  Dakota 
north  to  the  Saskatchewan. 

The  species  breeds  commonly  from  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains to  the  Pacific,  south  to  southern  Colorado,  Utah, 
Nevada  and  in  nearly  the  whole  of  California ;  also  prob- 
ably in  the  Mogollon  Mountains  of  Arizona.  The  north- 
ern range  extends  to  southern  British  Columbia,  Alberta 
(rarely  or  casually  to  Lesser  Slave  Lake)  and  to  Fort 
Churchill  on  Hudson  Bay.  There  is  no  authentic  record 
for  the  Mackenzie  Valley,  and  if  the  specimen  in  the  Brit- 
ish Museum  labeled  "Bering  Straits"  really  was  captured 
there  it  was  a  wanderer,  as  was  also  one  taken  at  Una- 
laska,  March  18,  1879. 

In  the  Mississippi  Valley  the  gadwall  occasionally 
breeds  in  northern  Nebraska  and  rarely  in  Kansas.  For- 
merly it  bred  in  Wisconsin  (Horicon  Marsh  and  Lake 
Koshkonong),  there  is  one  record  for  Ontario  (St.  Clair 
Flats)  and  one  for  Anticosti  Island.  It  is  only  a  strag- 
gler to  New  England  and  the  Maritime  Provinces  north 
to  Quebec  and  Newfoundland,  and  east  of  the  Mississippi 
is  rare  north  of  North  Carolina. 

The  gadwall  is  a  common  breeder  in  Europe  and  Asia, 
rangingsouth  inwinterfar  intoAfricaand  to  southern  Asia. 

Winter  Range. — The  principal  winter  home  of  the  gad- 
wall  is  in  the  lower  Mississippi  Valley,  especially  Texas, 
Louisiana  and  Arkansas.  It  rarely  winters  as  far  north  as 
Illinois,  but  is  more  common  to  the  eastward  in  North 
Carolina  and  Florida;  accidental  in  Cuba  (twice),  Ja- 


APPENDIX  171 

maica  and  the  Bermudas.  The  winter  range  extends  to 
the  southern  end  of  Lower  California,  to  Mazatlan  and 
the  City  of  Mexico.  In  northern  Mexico  the  species  is 
common  through  the  winter,  and  birds  have  been  found 
paired  in  May,  the  late  date  indicating  that  they  intended 
to  remain  and  breed.  Thence  it  extends  commonly  to 
Utah  and  Oregon,  rarely  to  Washington  and  British 
Columbia. 

Spring  Migration. — Only  a  few  notes  on  the  migration 
of  this  species  have  been  recorded.  The  average  date 
when  the  first  spring  migrants  reach  southern  Iowa  is 
March  18  (earliest,  March  10,  1896),  it  thus  being  one  of 
the  earlier  ducks  in  this  part  of  its  range.  It  reached 
Heron  Lake,  Minn.,  April  1  (earliest,  March  17,  1886)  ; 
Loveland,  Colo.,  March  6,  and  Terry,  Mont.,  about  April 
1.  The  first  migrant  was  seen  at  Aweme,  Man.,  April  23, 
1898,  and  at  Indian  Head,  Saskatchewan,  April  18,  1892, 
and  April  24,  1904.  Eggs  have  been  secured  at  St.  Clair 
Flats,  Ontario,  about  May  30;  in  western  Minnesota,  June 
14,  1879;  northern  North  Dakota,  June  15,  1901;  Mani- 
toba, June  5,  1894;  Crane  Lake,  Saskatchewan,  June  9, 
1894;  Nevada,  May  29,  1868,  and  incubated  eggs  in  Los 
Angeles  County,  California,  April  16. 

Fall  Migration. — The  first  arrived  at  the  southern  end 
of  Lower  California  Sept.  27,  1887;  in  northern  New 
Mexico  the  species  was  abundant  the  last  days  of  Sep- 
tember, 1904.  The  average  date  when  the  last  left  cen- 
tral Minnesota  was  Nov.  14. 

Mareca  americana  (Gmel.)  Baldpate.  American  Widgeon. 

Breeding  Range. — A  line  drawn  from  the  western  shore 
of  Hudson  Bay  to  the  western  shore  of  Lake  Michigan 


172  APPENDIX 

marks,  approximately,  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  breed- 
ing range  of  this  species,  and  in  the  eastern  200  miles  of 
this  district  it  is  decidedly  uncommon  during  the  nesting 
season.  There  are  a  few  records  of  the  bird's  breeding  in 
Indiana  (Hogback  Lake,  English  Lake)  and  in  Wiscon- 
sin (formerly  at  Koshkonong  and  Horicon),  but  not  until 
Minnesota  is  reached  does  this  duck  breed  commonly. 
West  of  the  Mississippi  it  breeds  abundantly  in  North 
Dakota,  a  few  in  southern  South  Dakota  and  rarely  or 
casually  in  Nebraska  and  Kansas.  It  is  a  common  breeder 
in  Colorado,  Utah  and  Nevada  (Truckee  Valley),  and 
probably  breeds  rarely  in  Arizona  (Mormon  Lake),  but 
as  yet  the  species  has  not  been  recorded  as  nesting  in 
California.  The  main  breeding  range  is  northwestern 
North  America  from  Oregon  and  Minnesota  north  to  the 
Mackenzie  Valley  and  central  Alaska.  A  line  from  Fort 
Churchill,  Hudson  Bay,  to  Franklin  Bay  is  the  approxi- 
mate northeastern  boundary  of  the  range,  thence  west  to 
Kotzebue  Sound.  If  this  line  from  Franklin  Bay  to  Fort 
Churchill  is  continued  to  Chesapeake  Bay,  it  marks  the 
approximate  eastern  limits  at  which  the  species  is  com- 
mon in  migration.  Northeastward  the  species  is  known 
as  a  rare  migrant,  in  New  England  hardly  more  than  a 
straggler,  but  it  has  been  recorded  as  far  as  Newfound- 
land, southern  Labrador  (Natashquan)  and  northern 
Ontario  (Moose  River.)  The  baldpate  is  rather  rare  on 
the  coast  of  Alaska,  but  is  more  common  in  the  interior 
and  is  a  rare  or  casual  visitor  to  the  Near,  Commander 
and  Bermuda  Islands. 

Winter  Range. — The  baldpate  is  common  on  the  Chesa- 
peake in  winter,  but  as  it  is  rare  directly  to  the  northward 
at  all  times  of  the  year,  it  is  evident  that  the  migration  is 


APPENDIX  173 

from  the  northwest.  Occasionally  birds  are  found  in  win- 
ter as  far  north  as  Rhode  Island.  The  species  is  common 
during  the  winter  in  the  Carolinas,  less  common  in  Flori- 
da and  Cuba  and  rare  in  the  Bermudas,  the  Bahamas, 
Jamaica,  Porto  Rico,  St.  Thomas  and  Trinidad.  It  is  re- 
corded from  Costa  Rica  and  is  a  rather  common  winter 
resident  of  northern  Guatemala  and  much  of  Mexico 
north  of  the  Valley  of  Mexico.  The  winter  home  in  the 
Mississippi  Valley  extends  north  to  Illinois  and  in  the 
west  to  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  Utah  (probably)  and  to 
southern  British  Columbia.  It  is  probably  most  common 
during  the  winter  along  the  Pacific  coast. 

Spring  Migration. — This  begins  late  in  February,  and 
by  early  March  the  species  is  north  of  its  winter  home. 
Average  dates  of  arrival  are :  Western  New  York,  March 
23;  Erie,  Pa.,  March  24;  Oberlin,  O.,  March  17;  southern 
Michigan,  March  25;  Keokuk,  la.,  March  15;  central  Ne- 
braska, March  17;  Loveland,  Colo.,  March  10.  The  fur- 
ther advance  of  the  species  is  somewhat  slow.  The  ave- 
rage time  of  reaching  Heron  Lake,  Minn.,  is  March  29; 
southern  Manitoba,  April  20 ;  Terry,  Mont.,  April  8.  The 
first  individual  was  seen  at  Indian  Head,  Saskatchewan, 
April  24,  1904,  and  at  Osier,  Saskatchewan,  May  2,  1893. 
These  dates  indicate  an  average  speed  of  seventeen  miles 
per  day  from  central  Nebraska  to  Heron  Lake  and 
eighteen  miles  per  day  thence  to  southern  Manitoba. 
The  average  rate  from  Colorado  to  Montana  is  sixteen 
miles  per  day,  and  the  same  rate  continued  northward 
would  bring  the  first  baldpate  to  Indian  Head  and  Osier 
at  almost  exactly  the  stated  dates.  If  the  birds  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley  pass  northwest  to  the  Mackenzie  Val- 
ley, this  rate  of  migration  would  bring  them  to  Great 


174  APPENDIX 

Slave-Lake  about  the  first  week  in  June,  whereas  the  first 
arrival  at  Fort  Simpson,  Mackenzie,  was  April  28,  1904; 
and  a  female  was  shot  at  Fort  Resolution  May  24,  1860, 
which  contained  a  fully  formed  egg.  It  is  evident,  then, 
that  the  earliest  arrivals  in  the  Mackenzie  Valley  come 
from  the  southwest,  where,  in  southern  British  Columbia, 
the  species  winters  a  thousand  miles  farther  north  than 
on  the  plains.  The  baldpate  arrives  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Yukon  in  early  May,  and  on  the  Knik  River,  Alaska,  the 
first  bird  was  noted  May  10,  1901.  Most  of  the  few  spring 
records  in  New  England  ar-e  in  April,  two  in  February, 
but  the  species  is  apparently  less  common  in  the  spring 
than  in  the  fall.  The  last  migrants  usually  leave  Cuba 
late  in  April,  though  in  Guatemala  they  have  been  seen 
as  late  as  May. 

Fall  Migration. — The  month  of  September,  especially 
the  latter  half,  sees  the  arrival  of  the  first  baldpates  over 
most  of  the  district  between  the  breeding  grounds  and 
Cuba  and  Louisiana ;  but  these  are  only  the  advance 
scouts ;  the  main  body  appears  in  the  northern  United 
States  early  in  October  and  reaches  the  middle  Atlantic 
States  about  the  middle  of  that  month.  Dates  of  arrival 
are:  Middletown,  R.  I.,  Sept.  20,  1889;  East  Hartford, 
.Conn.,  Sept.  29,  1888 ;  Beaver,  Pa.,  Aug.  30,  1890.  Strag- 
glers have  been  seen  in  Massachusetts  and  in'  northern 
Pennsylvania  as  late  as  the  first  week  in  December,  but 
most  leave  at  least  a  month  earlier.  The  average  date  at 
which  the  last  were  seen  at  Ottawa,  Ont.,  is  Oct.  27,  latest 
Nov.  6,  1890;  at  Keokuk,  la.,  Nov.  13,  latest  Nov.  18,  1892. 
The  last  was  seen  at  Montreal  Sept.  20,  1897;  Edmonton, 
Alberta,  Nov.  6,  1896;  Kowak  River,  Alaska,  Sept.  20, 
1898;  St.  Michael,  Alaska,  Oct.  1. 


APPENDIX  175 

Nettion  carolinense  (Gmel.)     Green-winged  Teal. 

Breeding  Range. — A  few  probably  have  bred  in  the 
mountains  of  north  central  Pennsylvania  (Lycoming 
County),  and  it  has  been  reported  as  nesting  near  Buf- 
falo, N.  Y.  The  regular  breeding  range  extends  from 
New  Brunswick,  through  northeastern  Quebec  and  New- 
foundland, to  Ungava  Bay,  Labrador,  latitude  58°.  It  is 
a  common  migrant  in  Ontario,  and  hence  undoubtedly 
breeds  in  the  northern  part.  It  has  been  recorded  as  a 
rare  breeder  in  southern  Ontario  (Toronto,  Point  aux 
Pins,  Oshawa,  Gravenhurst.)  The  southern  boundary  of 
the  breeding  range  to  the  westward  is  found  in  Illinois 
(Rockford,  Lacon,  Fernwood),  in  Michigan  (Neebish 
Island),  Wisconsin  (Lake  Koshkonong,  formerly),  Min- 
nesota (Faribault,  Heron  Lake),  Nebraska  (Dewey 
Lake,  Badger,  Valentine),  Colorado  (Beloit,  San  Luis 
Valley),  New  Mexico  (San  Miguel  County),  Utah  (Salt 
Lake),  Nevada  (Washoe  Lake),  Oregon  (Fort  Klamath.) 
The  range  extends  north  to  the  edge  of  the  Barren 
Grounds  from  near  Fort  Churchill,  Hudson  Bay,  to  Fort 
Anderson,  to  Kotzebue  Sound  and  nearly  to  Point  Bar- 
row. It  breeds  throughout  the  Aleutian  Chain  to  the 
Near  Islands.  It  is  rare  as  a  breeder  everywhere  in  the 
United  States  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  the  main 
breeding  grounds  are  in  west  central  Canada  from  Mani- 
toba to  Lake  Athabaska.  It  has  wandered  a  few  times  to 
the  west  coast  of  Greenland,  from  Nanortalik  to  Disco 
Bay,  and  was  once  taken  in  May  on  the  east  coast  at 
Nanusek.  The  species  is  accidental  in  Great  Britain,  the 
Bermudas  and  Hawaii. 

Winter  Range. — South  of  the  United  States  it  is  com- 
mon in  Mexico,  at  least  as  far  as  Jalapa,  the  City  of  Mex- 


176  APPENDIX 

ico,  Michoacan  and  Jalisco ;  common  also  in  the  Bahamas 
and  rare  in  Cuba,  Jamaica  and  Honduras.  It  has  been 
recorded  on  the  islands  of  Carriacou,  Grenada  and  Toba- 
go, of  the  Lesser  Antilles. 

It  is  one  of  the  most  abundant  ducks  throughout  the 
southwestern  United  States  during  winter.  It  is  a  hardy 
duck  and  in  general  remains  as  far  north  as  it  can  find  open 
fresh  water.  Thus  it  winters  in  western  Montana  (Great 
Falls),  central  Utah,  southern  Nebraska,  southern  Iowa, 
central  Illinois,  central  Indiana  (rarely  Lake  Michigan), 
western  New  York  and  Rhode  Island.  It  is  accidental  in 
Massachusetts  in  winter,  and  one  was  found  at  Halifax, 
Nova  Scotia,  Jan.  14,  1890.  The  principal  winter  home  in 
the  Mississippi  Valley  lies  south  of  37°  latitude. 

Spring  Migration. — The  green-winged  teal  is  one  of  the 
early  migrating  "river  ducks,"  but  not  quite  so  early,  by 
about  five  days,  as  the  mallard.  Along  the  Atlantic  slope 
it  passes  north  of  its  winter  home  in  early  March,  and  the 
average  date  of  its  arrival  in  southern  Pennsylvania  is 
March  16;  southern  Connecticut,  April  6;  Montreal,  Can- 
ada, April  27;  Prince  Edward  Island,  April  26. 

The  average  date  of  the  first  arrivals  in  central  Mis- 
souri is  Feb.  26;  central  Illinois,  March  7;  English  Lake, 
Ind.,  March  15;  Keokuk,  la.  (average  for  twelve  years), 
March  3;  central  Iowa  (fourteen  years),  March  11 ;  Her- 
on Lake,  Minn,  (six  years),  March  24  (earliest,  March  6, 
1887.)  In  its  migration  along  the  eastern  border  of  the 
plains  the  green-winged  teal  is  noted  at  Onaga,  Kans., 
March  8;  northern  Nebraska,  March  12;  central  South 
Dakota,  March  20;  northern  North  Dakota,  April  6; 
Aweme,  Man.,  April  16,  and  southern  Saskatchewan, 
April  19.  These  dates  indicate  the  rather  slow  rate  of 


APPENDIX  177 

only  eighteen  miles  a  day.  The  average  of  five  years' 
records  of  arrival  at  Terry,  Mont.,  is  March  23,  a  date 
about  ten  days  earlier  than  that  at  which  the  species 
appears  in  the  same  latitude  in  Minnesota.  Its  winter 
home  on  the  Pacific  coast  extends  1,500  miles  farther 
north  than  on  the  Atlantic,  and  hence  it  is  not  surprising 
that  the  bird  has  been  seen  on  the  middle  Yukon  by  M-ay 
3  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yukon  by  May  10. 

South'  of  the  breeding  range  the  last  green-winged  teal 
was  seen  at  Raleigh,  N.  C.,  April  13,  1900;  Hester,  La., 
April  6,  1902 ;  northern  Texas,  April  16,  1886.  The  aver- 
age date  of  disappearance  for  eight  years  at  Keokuk,  la., 
is  April  7,  latest,  April  30,  1892. 

Eggs  were  taken  at  Nulato,  Alaska,  latitude  65°,  May 
20,  and  no  earlier  date  seems  to  be  recorded  for  the 
regions  to  the  south.  Eggs  have  been  found  at  Ed- 
monton, Alberta,  latitude  54°,  May  27,  and  in  southern 
Ontario,  latitude  45°,  May  22.  Downy  young  were  seen 
in  the  Devils  Lake  region  of  North  Dakota  June  20. 

Fall  Migration. — An  average  date  for  the  reappearance 
of  the  green-winged  teal  at  Erie,  Pa.,  is  Sept.  15  (earliest, 
Sept.  1,  1894) ;  at  Alexandria,  Va.,  Sept.  29  (earliest, 
Sept.  22)  ;  but  it  is  not  considered  common  until  early 
November.  Corresponding  dates  of  arrival  are  :  Keokuk, 
la.,  Sept  21 ;  central  Kansas,  Sept.  12 ;  central  Texas, 
Sept.  22;  central  California,  Sept.  17.  The  last  was 
noted  on  Prince  Edward  Island,  Nov.  4,  1890;  Montreal, 
Can.,  Nov.  1,  1893;  Aweme,  Man.,  Oct.  30,  1896;  Kowak 
River,  Alaska,  Sept.  3,  1898;  St.  Michael,  Alaska,  the 
first  week  in  October.  The  average  date  of  the  last  seen 
in  southern  Ontario  (thirteen  years)  is  Oct.  28  (latest, 


178  APPENDIX 

Nov.  7,   1890) ;  at  Keokuk,  la.   (seven  years),  Nov.  22 
(latest,  Nov.  27,  1902.) 

Querquedula  discors  (Linn.)     Blue-winged  Teal. 

Breeding  Range. — The  principal  summer  home  of  this 
teal  is  the  interior  of  North  America  between  the  Rocky 
Mountains  and  the  Great  Lakes,  from  northern  Illinois 
and  central  Iowa  north  to  Saskatchewan.  The  species 
is  not  common  east  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains  nor  on 
the  Pacific  slope.  It  has  been  recorded  as  breeding 
rarely  in  Rhode  Island  (Sakonnet,  1890),  Maine  (Calais), 
New  Brunswick  (Kings  County,  St.  John  County),  Nova 
Scotia,  Anticosti  Island  and  Newfoundland,  Quebec 
(Montreal,  Point  de  Monts),  Ungava  (Clearwater  Lake, 
latitude  57°),  rare  in  southern  Ontario  (Toronto),  New 
York  (Utica,  Auburn,  Buffalo,  formerly  Long  Island, 
Black  Pond,  Ulster  County.)  It  breeds  as  far  south  as 
northern  Ohio  (Port  Clinton,  Sandusky),  southern  In- 
diana (Gibson  County  and  Wheatland),  southern  Illinois 
(Anna),  central  Missouri  (Kings  Lake,  Warrensburg, 
Kansas  City),  central  Kansas  (Ernporia,  Wichita,  Medi- 
cine Lodge,  Fort  Hays) — casual  or  accidental  breeding  at 
Fort  Reno,  Okla.,  and  San  Antonio  and  Spring  Lake, 
Texas — southern  Colorado  (Fort  Garland  and  La  Plata 
County),  New  Mexico  (Santa  Rosa;  Black  Lake,  Colfax 
County;  Chloride),  probably  in  Arizona  (Mogollon  Moun- 
tains), central  Utah  (Thistle  Valley,  Fairfield,  northern 
Nevada  (Truckee  Valley,  Washoe  Lake,  and  central  Ore- 
gon (Burns.) 

The  breeding  range  extends  north  to  central  British 
Columbia  (Lac  la  Hache,  158-Mile  House) ;  but  the 
bird  is  rare  or  accidental  in  Alaska  (Cape  Romanzoff), 


APPENDIX  179 

Alberta  (Edmonton),  and  on  Great  Slave  Lake.  Much 
remains  to  be  learned  in  regard  to  the  nesting  of  the  blue- 
winged  teal  in  the  West  Indies  and  Central  America.  It 
breeds  in  Jamaica  and  in  the  Lesser  Antilles,  quite  prob- 
ably also  in  Honduras  and  in  western  Mexico  (Mazat- 
lan),  near  the  southern  end  of  Lower  California. 

The  resident  teal  of  Jamaica  probably  should  be  sepa- 
rated subspecifically  as  Querquedula  discors  inornata 
(Gosse),  but  the  eastern  and  western  boundaries  of  this 
form  remain  to  be  determined. 

Winter  Range. — Blue-winged  teal  migrate  over  a  vast 
extent  of  territory,  and  are  found  in  winter  throughout 
northern  South  America  south  to  Brazil,  Ecuador,  Peru 
and  Chile.  They  occur  abundantly  in  Central  America, 
Mexico  and  the  West  Indies,  and  are  equally  common 
during  the  winter  in  the  Gulf  States  and  north  to  North 
Carolina.  In  the  Mississippi  Valley  few  remain  much 
north  of  the  Gulf,  though  these  few  are  scattered  widely 
as  far  as  southern  Indiana  and  southern  Illinois ;  a  few 
winter  in  Arizona,  and  the  small  number  of  Pacific  coast 
birds  spend  the  winter  in  California  and  north  to  south- 
ern British  Columbia. 

North  of  North  Carolina  this  teal  can  hardly  be  called 
a  common  winter  species,  though  it  is  not  rare  on  Chesa- 
peake Bay  and  winters  even  as  far  north  as  Delaware. 
This  species  is  one  of  the  least  hardy  of  our  ducks,  and 
few  individuals  remain  where  there  is  cold  and  ice. 

Spring  Migration. — The  blue-winged  teal  is  among  the 
latest  ducks  to  migrate.  The  first  was  noted  at  Erie,  Pa., 
March  27,  1898;  Templeton,  Mass.,  April  1,  1898;  Prince 
Edward  Island,  April  20,  1888.  In  central  Iowa,  where 
the  hardy  ducks  appear  in  February,  the  blue-winged  teal 


180  APPENDIX 

was  noted  on  the  average  (ten  years)  March  26  (earliest, 
March  18,  1899) ;  northern  Iowa,  April  4,  and  Heron  Lake, 
Minn.,  April  9.  The  records  of  Heron  Lake  are  quite  uni- 
form—April 11,  1885;  April  11,  1886;  April  10,  1887,  April 
8,  1888 ;  April  9,  1889,  April  7,  1890.  These  dates  indicate 
less  variation  in  the  time  of  arrival  of  this  species  than 
of  any  other.  The  blue-winged  teal  appears  in  south- 
eastern Nebraska,  March  28;  central  South  Dakota, 
April  2;  central  North  Dakota,  April  12;  northwestern 
Minnesota,  April  23;  Aweme,  Man.,  April  27. 

In  southern  Texas  this  teal  becomes  common  in  spring 
about  the  middle  of  March ;  about  the  first  week  in  April 
is  the  height  of  the  shooting  season  in  southern  Louisi- 
ana. The  latest  migrants  have  been  noted  at  Gaines- 
ville, Fla.,  April  29,  1887 ;  Baltimore,  Md.,  May  7,  1890 ; 
New  Orleans,  La.,  May  21,  1898;  San  Antonio,  Tex.,  May 
14,  1902.  Eggs  have  been  taken  at  Canton,  111.,  May  16, 
1897.  Eggs  just  hatching  were  found  on  the  Magdalen 
Islands,  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  June  16,  1900,  and  fresh 
eggs  at  Waseca,  Minn.,  June  1 ;  in  North  Dakota,  June 
12 ;  and  at  Reaburn,  Man.,  June  4,  1894. 

Fall  Migration. — The  blue-winged  teal  is  one  of  the 
earliest  ducks  to  move  southward ;  during  the  month  of 
August  it  reappears  throughout  the  northern  half  of  the 
United  States  and  some  especially  early  birds  almost 
reach  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  During  a  period  of  fourteen 
years  the  average  date  of  arrival  at  Alexandria,  Va.,  was 
Aug.  31  (earliest,  Aug.  18,  1889)  ;  they  become  common 
on  the  average  Sept.  23,  though  in  the  fall  of  1887  they 
were  already  numerous  Sept.  10.  The  average  date  of 
arrival  in  central  Kansas  is  Sept.  12,  and  in  southern 
Mississippi  Sept.  16. 


APPENDIX  181 

The  average  date  at  which  the  last  was  seen  at  Mont- 
real was  Sept.  25 ;  latest,  Sept.  29,  1888 ;  the  last  one 
seen  on  Prince  Edward  Island  in  this  same  year  was 
Oct.  8;  Lewiston,  Me.,  Nov.  7,  1901;  Cape  May,  N.  J., 
Dec.  5,  1884. 

The  average  date  for  eight  years  when  the  last  one 
was  seen  at  Ottawa,  Ont.,  is  Oct.  13  (latest,  Oct.  27, 
1894);  Chicago,  111.,  Oct.  18  (latest,  Oct.  22,  1904); 
southern  Iowa,  Oct.  22  (latest,  Nov.  4,  1885 ;  central 
South  Dakota,  Oct.  7;  eastern  Nebraska,  Nov.  11;  cen- 
tral Missouri,  Nov.  6  (latest,  Nov.  13,  1902).  The  last 
one  seen  in  1896  at  Aweme,  Man.,  was  on  Oct.  30.  Dur- 
ing the  fall  migration  the  blue-winged  teal  is  fairly  com- 
mon on  the  Bermudas,  but  it  rarely  occurs  there  in 
spring. 

Querquedula  cyanoptera  (Vieill.)    Cinnamon  Teal. 

Breeding  Range. — The  breeding  range  of  the  cinnamon 
teal  differs  essentially  from  that  of  almost  every  other 
duck  in  the  Western  Hemisphere.  It  consists  of  a  large 
area  north  of  the  equator  and  a  similar  district  south  of 
the  equator,  and  these  two  homes  are  separated  by  a 
strip  about  2,000  miles  wide,  in^which  the  species  is  prac- 
tically unknown.  In  North  America  the  breeding  range 
extends  north  to  southern  British  Columbia  (Lac  la 
Hache)  and  southwestern  Alberta;  east  to  eastern  Wy- 
oming (Lake  Como,  Cheyenne),  western  Kansas  (Fort 
Wallace,  Meade  County)  ;  south  to  northern  Lower  Cali- 
fornia (La  Grulla,  San  Rafael  Valley,  and  possibly  San 
Jose  del  Cabo),  northern  Mexico  (Chihuahua  City), 
southern  New  Mexico  (Carlsbad),  and  southwestern 
Texas  (Marathon,  Rock  Spring.) 


182  APPENDIX 

The  cinnamon  teal  occurs  sparingly  in  migration  as 
far  east  as  Houston,  Tex.,  and  Omaha,  Neb.  It  has  been 
noted  as  accidental  at  Oak  Lake,  Manitoba ;  Big  Stone 
Lake,  Minnesota ;  Lake  Koshkonong,  Wisconsin ;  Lick- 
ing County  Reservoir,  Ohio;  Seneca  River  and  Seneca 
Lake,  New  York;  Lake  Pontchartrain,  Lake  Catta- 
watchie,  St.  Malo,  and  Opelousas,  La. ;  Mount  Pleasant, 
S.  C. ;  Lake  lamonia  and  Key  West,  Fla. 

Throughout  this  breeding  area  the  eggs  are  deposited 
during  May  and  June.  About  six  months  later  the  South 
American  colony  breeds.  The  breeding  range  includes 
the  pampas  of  Argentina  as  far  north  as  Buenos  Aires, 
while  in  the  Andes  it  extends  north  to  central  Peru 
(Santa  Luzia.)  Southward  the  species  breeds  as  far  as 
the  Falkland  Islands  and  the  Straits  of  Magellan.  These 
South  American  breeders,  of  course,  are  not  the  same 
birds  which  nest  in  North  America,  for  it  is  true,  without 
exception,  that  no  bird  which  breeds  north  of  the  equator 
breeds  also  in  the  Southern  Hemisphere. 

Winter  Range. — The  cinnamon  teal  of  North  America 
retires  in  winter  but  little  south  of  its  breeding  range  in 
Mexico  as  far  as  Mazatlan,  Guanajuato,  and  the  Laguna 
de  Chapulco,  Puebla.  It  is  found  at  this  season  as  far 
north  as  Brownsville,  Tex.,  central  New  Mexico,  south- 
ern Arizona,  and  Tulare  Lake,  California.  South  of 
Mexico  the  only  record  is  of  an  accidental  occurrence  in 
Costa  Rica.  There  is  no  reliable  record  as  yet  for  the 
West  Indies. 

During  the  winter  season  the  cinnamon  teal  of  the 
Southern  Hemisphere  has  been  noted  as  far  south  as  the 
mouth  of  the  Senger  River,  in  Patagonia,  latitude  44°  S., 
and  Chiloe  Island,  Chile,  in  nearly  the  same  latitude.  The 


APPENDIX  183 

northern  range  in  winter  is  not  determinable  with  exact- 
ness from  present  data.  The  species  passes  north  to 
Rio  Grande  do  Sul,  Brazil,  and  to  southern  Paraguay. 
It  has  been  noted  at  Chorillos  and  Tungasuca,  Peru; 
near  Quito,  Ecuador;  at  Bogota  and  Santa  Marta,  Co- 
lombia. These  Ecuador  and  Colombia  teal  may  be  acci- 
dental occurrences;  it  is  significant,  at  least,  that  all  the 
specimens  from  Colombia  were  taken  a  half  a  century 
ago,  and  the  species  has  not  been  noted  there  by  recent 
collectors. 

Spring  Migration. — The  northward  movement  of  the 
cinnamon  teal  in  the  United  States  begins  about  the  1st  of 
March,  and  arrivals  have  been  noted  at  Ash  Meadows, 
Nev.,  March  18,  1891;  Grangeville,  Ida.,  April  11,  1887; 
Chilliwack,  British  Columbia,  April  24,  1888,  and  April 
22,  1889;  Beloit,  Colo.,  March  23,  1892;  Colorado  Springs, 
April  9,  1882;  Loveland,  Colo.,  April  13,  1890;  Lay,  Colo., 
April  20,  1890;  Omaha,  Neb.,  April  10,  1896,  and  April 
12,  1897;  Lake  Como,  Wyoming,  about  May  5. 

Fall  Migration. — Southward  migration  occurs  chiefly 
in  September,  and  the  northern  portion  of  the  breeding 
grounds  from  British  Columbia  to  eastern  Colorado  is 
deserted  about  the  middle  of  October. 

Spatula  clypeata  (Linn.)     Shoveller. 

Breeding  Range. — The  principal  North  American  sum- 
mer home  of  the  shoveller  is  in  the  prairie  region  of  the 
interior,  from  a  little  south  of  the  Canadian  border,  north 
to  the  Saskatchewan.  Throughout  this  region  it  is  com- 
mon. To  the  eastward  it  is  rare.  It  is  scarcely  common 
as  far  as  Hudson  Bay;  nor  is  it  common  east  of  a  line 
from  southeastern  Michigan  to  the  mouth  of  Chesapeake 


184  APPENDIX 

Bay,  in  which  latter  region  it  is  found  only  in  migration 
and  in  winter.  In  the  Maritime  Provinces  of  Canada, 
and  even  north  to  Newfoundland,  the  shoveller  has  been 
recorded  as  a  rare  or  casual  visitor;  but  reliable  breed- 
ing records  from  this  region  seem  to  be  lacking.  It  is 
rare  as  a  breeder  in  southern  Michigan,  and  to  the  east- 
ward is  almost  accidental  in  summer,  though  it  has  been 
known  to  breed  at  English  Lake,  northwestern  Indiana, 
and  at  Long  Point,  on  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Erie. 
The  regular  breeding  range  extends  south  to  northern 
Iowa  and  southern  South  Dakota;  thence  southward  it 
breeds  rarely  and  locally  in  Nebraska  and  Kansas,  and 
during  the  summer  of  1905  one  of  the  parties  of  the  Bio- 
logical Survey  found  it  breeding  near  East  Bernard, 
about  latitude  29°  30*,  in  southeastern  Texas.  In  the 
western  United  States  the  species  breeds  commonly 
from  Colorado  to  northern  California,  and  rarely  in  New 
Mexico  (Santa  Rosa),  Arizona  (Mogollon  Mountains), 
and  southern  California  (Los  Angeles  County.)  On  the 
southern  coast  of  Texas  the  species  is  not  uncommon  all 
summer,  though  these  summer  residents  are  probably 
nonbreeders.  Mated  birds  have  been  found  in  May  in 
northern  Chihuahua,  Mexico,  and  at  the  southern  end 
of  Lower  California,  and  it  is  not  improbable  that  the 
species  may  breed  locally  in  these  districts,  and  even 
south  to  Lake  Chapala,  Jalisco. 

The  northern  limit  of  the  usual  breeding  range  is  from 
the  valley  of  the  Saskatchewan  to  central  British  Colum- 
bia. The  species  is  a  rare  breeder  thence  northward  to 
the  edge  of  the  Barren  Grounds,  casually  to  Fort  Ander- 
son and  Fort  McPherson.  It  is  rather  rare  in  the  Yukon 
region,  but  has  been  known  to  breed  at  Fort  Yukon, 


APPENDIX  185 

Nulato,  and  along  the  west  coast  of  Alaska  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Kuskokwim  River  to  Kotzebue  Sound. 
The  shoveller  has  a  wide  range  in  the  Eastern  Hemi- 
sphere, breeding  north  about  to  the  Arctic  Circle,  and 
retiring  in  winter  to  northern  Africa  and  southern  Asia. 

Winter  Range. — A  few  pass  south  in  winter  to  Colom- 
bia, South  America  (Medellin,  Bogota),  Panama,  Costa 
Rica,  and  through  the  West  Indies  (Cuba,  Jamaica,  Porto 
Rico,  St.  Thomas,  Barbados  and  Trinidad.)  It  is  rare 
in  Florida,  and  seems  not  to  have  been  noted  in  the 
Bahamas.  The  Carolinas  are  the  only  place  on  the  At- 
lantic coast  where  the  species  is  common.  It  is  not  rare 
in  Maryland,  and  there  are  a  few  winter  records  for  New 
Jersey.  The  greater  portion  of  the  species  winters  in 
the  southern  Mississippi  Valley,  north  rarely  to  southern 
Illinois — accidental  Jan.  11,  1892,  at  Lanesboro,  Minn. — 
and  south  through  Mexico  to  central  Guatemala;  indeed 
many  hundreds  of  thousands  are  said  to  winter  near 
Lake  Chapala,  Jalisco.  At  this  season  it  is  found  in  New 
Mexico,  Arizona,  all  of  California,  and  less  commonly 
north  on  the  Pacific  coast  to  southern  British  Columbia. 
Numbers  winter  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands.  During  flight 
between  the  winter  and  summer  home  it  passes  through 
the  northeastern  United  States,  not  rarely  through  Penn- 
sylvania and  New  York,  and  formerly  it  was  not  rare  in 
Massachusetts;  but  for  the  last  fifteen  years  there  has 
been  hardly  more  than  a  single  record  a  year  for  the 
whole  of  New  England. 

Spring  Migration. — Records  of  the  movements  of  this 
species  are  not  numerous  enough  to  permit  exact  state- 
ments. Migration  begins  late  in  February,  but  is  slight 
before  the  middle  of  March,  at  which  time  the  species 


186  APPENDIX 

begins  to  appear  north  of  its  winter  range.  Average 
dates  of  arrival  are:  Central  Illinois,  March  23;  central 
Iowa,  March  23  (average  of  sixteen  years)  ;  Heron  Lake, 
Minn.,  March  26;  central  Nebraska,  March  25;  central 
Colorado,  March  12;  vicinity  of  Chicago,  111.,  April  16; 
southeastern  Minnesota,  April  9;  central  North  Dakota, 
April  13;  southern  Manitoba  (twelve  years),  April  21; 
Terry,  Mont.,  April  13.  The  first  were  seen  near  Ed- 
monton, Alberta,  May  1,  1901 ;  Fort  Chipewyan,  Macken- 
zie, May  7,  1893;  Fort  Resolution,  Mackenzie,  May  18, 
1860,  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yukon  River  the  second 
week  in  May.  The  general  time  of  breeding  can  be 
learned  from  the  following  dates :  Haywards,  Cal.,  eggs 
April  25,  1901 ;  East  Bernard,  Tex.,  downy  young  May 
14,  1905 ;  Fort  Snelling,  Minn.,  eggs  May  23 ;  North  Da- 
kota, incubated  eggs  June  7;  Oak  Lake,  Manitoba,  eggs 
May  24,  1892. 

Fall  Migration. — An  individual  seen  at  Erie,  Pa.,  Sept. 
6,  1893,  marks  about  the  beginning  of  fall  migration,  and 
soon  after  this,  by  the  middle  of  the  month,  the  earliest 
migrants  have  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi 
River.  The  larger  portion  has  departed  from  the  north- 
ern United  States  by  the  middle  of  October,  and  the  re- 
gion just  north  of  the  winter  range  is  deserted  early  in 
November.  South  of  the  United  States,  at  the  southern 
end  of  Lower  California,  the  first  arrivals  have  been  re- 
corded Oct.  18;  Guaymas,  Mexico,  November;  Panama, 
Oct.  16;  Cuba,  September;  Jamaica,  November;  Trinidad, 
December. 

Defila  acuta  (Linn.)     Pin-tail. 

Breeding  Range. — This  is  a  common  breeding  duck 
throughout  a  wide  stretch  of  country  from  North  Dakota 


APPENDIX  187 

to  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  Alaska.  The  western  shores  of 
Hudson  Bay  seem  to  be  the  eastern  limit  of  the  normal 
breeding  ground  in  North  America.  A  few  birds  have 
been  seen  in  Labrador,  north  to  Ungava  Bay,  on  the 
west  coast  of  Greenland,  north  to  Upernavik,  and  also 
in  Newfoundland  and  the  Maritime  Provinces.  But  there 
are  only  a  few  breeding  records  east  of  the  line  from  the 
western  side  of  Hudson  Bay  to  the  western  shore  of  Lake 
Michigan ;  examples  are :  St.  George  Island,  James  Bay ; 
St.  Clair  Flats,  Ontario,  and  the  north  shore  of  Lake 
Erie.  Breeding  abundantly  along  the  northern  border 
of  the  United  States  from  Lake  Superior  nearly  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  the  species  decreases  in  numbers  south- 
ward until  it  is  rare  or  casual  as  a  breeder  in  southern 
Wisconsin,  northern  Illinois  (Will,  Calumet  Marsh, 
Grass  Lake)  ;  southern  Minnesota  (Faribault,  Waverly, 
Heron  Lake)  ;  northern  Iowa  (Hancock  County)  ;  south- 
ern South  Dakota  (Vermilion,  Scotland,  Running  Wa- 
ter), and  northern  Nebraska  (Kennedy,  Hay  Lake) ;  ac- 
cidental near  Kansas  City,  Mo.;  abundant  in  Montana 
and  rare  in  Wyoming  (Lake  Desmet),  Colorado  (Lari- 
mer County),  and  probably  Arizona  (Mormon  Lake)  ; 
common  in  British  Columbia,  and  rare  and  local  through 
Washington  (Mabton)  and  Oregon  (Rock  Creek  Sink) 
to  southern  California  (Alamitos.)  The  northern  limit 
of  the  breeding  range  extends  from  the  Arctic  coast 
northwest  of  Hudson  Bay  west  to  Alaska  and  the  Si- 
berian coast. 

The  pin-tail  breeds  in  the  northern  portions  of  the  Old 
World  and  migrates  south  in  winter  to  northern  Africa 
and  southern  Asia.  A  few  have  been  taken  in  the  Ber- 
mudas in  the  fall  and  winter. 


188  APPENDIX 

Winter  Range. — The  pin-tail  is  common  in  winter  on 
the  coast  of  North  Carolina,  and  is  not  uncommon  coast- 
wise as  far  south  as  Florida;  many  spend  the  winter  in 
Cuba,  a  few  pass  to  Jamaica,  and  there  is  one  record  of 
the  species  in  Porto  Rico ;  it  is  one  of  the  common  winter 
ducks  from  Mexico  to  Costa  Rica,  rare  in  Panama;  a 
few  winter  as  far  north  as  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey, 
while  accidentals  in  winter  have  been  recorded  from 
Long  Island  and  Lynn,  Mass.  Only  a  few  winter  in  the 
Mississippi  Valley  north  of  southern  Illinois,  and  thence 
the  winter  home  extends  through  Texas,  New  Mexico, 
and  Arizona  to  the  Pacific  coast,  where  it  is  abundant 
at  this  season  as  far  north  as  southern  British  Columbia. 
The  species  winters  casually  in  southern  Ohio  and  south- 
ern Indiana,  while  of  late  years  it  has  become  a  regular 
local  winter  resident  in  southern  Wisconsin. 

Spring  Migration. — The  pin-tail  vies  with  the  mallard 
in  the  earliness  of  its  spring  movements ;  these  two,  with 
the  Canada  goose,  are  among  the  first  of  the  water  fowl 
to  wing  their  way  northward.  Even  in  February,  while 
winter  still  holds  sway,  restless  adventurers  appear  in 
much  of  the  region,  which,  except  in  a  few  favored 
spots,  forbids  residence  through  the  winter.  The  average 
date  of  arrival  of  these  birds  in  central  Indiana  (fourteen 
years)  is  Feb.  21 ;  southern  Illinois  (twelve  years),  Feb. 
26;  central  Missouri  (fourteen  years),  Feb.  26;  Keokuk, 
la.  (fourteen  years),  Feb.  18;  central  Kansas  (seven 
years),  Feb.  21 ;  southern  Nebraska  (five  years),  Feb.  23. 
Farther  north  average  dates  of  arrival  are :  Erie,  Pa., 
March  11  (earliest,  Feb.  23,  1891);  northwestern  New 
York,  March  25  (earliest,  Feb.  25,  1902)  ;  southern  On- 
tario, April  18;  Ottawa,  Ont.,  April  30;  Montreal,  April 


APPENDIX  189 

23 ;  Prince  Edward  Island,  April  24.  The  late  arrival  of 
this  species  in  eastern  Canada  is  noteworthy,  for  by  the 
time  it  reaches  there,  late  April,  in  the  interior  it  has 
penetrated  a  thousand  miles  farther  north.  Along  this 
latter  route  average  dates  of  appearance  are  southern 
Michigan,  March  18;  vicinity  of  Chicago  (thirteen  years), 
March  20  (earliest,  March  12,  1893.)  The  normal  time 
of  arrival  in  central  Iowa,  as  deduced  from  copious  rec- 
ords for  twenty  years,  seems  to  be  March  6,  but  in 
twelve  of  these  years  one  station  or  another  reported 
unusually  early  birds,  the  average  date  of  arrival  of 
which  is  Feb.  21.  The  average  date  when  southern 
Minnesota  is  reached  is  (fourteen  years)  March  9  and 
northwestern  Minnesota  (four  years-)  April  8.  On  the 
plains  the  average  dates  are:  Northern  Nebraska,  March 
5 ;  southern  South  Dakota,  March  8 ;  central  South  Da- 
kota, March  17;  Larimore,  N.  D.,  April  3  (earliest, 
March  20,  1889);  Reaburn,  Man.,  April  8  (earliest, 
April  5,  1900);  Qu'Appelle,  Saskatchewan,  April  10 
(earliest,  March  25,  1905) ;  Great  Slave  Lake,  Mackenzie, 
about  May  1;  Fort  Confidence,  May  22,  1849.  A  very 
early  bird  was  seen  at  Fort  Simpson,  Mackenzie,  April 
28,  1904.  Nearer  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  average 
date  at  Terry,  Mont.,  was  April  1  (earliest,  March  10, 
1902)  ;  Great  Falls,  Mont.,  March  16  (earliest,  March  10, 
1889);  Edmonton,  Alberta,  April  7,  1887;  St.  Michael 
and  Nulato,  Alaska,  about  May  1 ;  Kowak  River, 
Alaska,  May  14,  1899;  Point  Barrow,  Alaska,  June  18, 
1882. 

The  pin-tail  not  only  migrates  early,  but  it  is  also 
among  the  earlier  ducks  to  breed,  as  evidenced  by  the 
following  data:  Will,  111.,  eggs,  May  10,  1877;  Calumet 


190  APPENDIX 

Marsh,  Illinois,  fresh  eggs,  May  29,  1875 ;  Hancock 
County,  Iowa,  eggs,  May  1,  1879;  Hay  Lake,  Nebraska, 
half-grown  young,  June  17,  1902;  North  Dakota,  eggs, 
early  May,  young,  first  week  of  June;  Oak  Lake,  Mani- 
toba, incubated  eggs,  May  24,  1892;  near  Lake  Atha- 
baska,  eggs  nearly  hatched,  June  8,  1901 ;  Nulato,  Alaska, 
beginning  to  breed  May  20;  Circle  City,  Alaska,  downy 
young,  July  10,  1903;  Kowak  River,  Alaska,  first  eggs, 
June  1,  1899. 

Fall  Migration. — As  is  true  of  most  ducks,  there  is  a 
southward  movement  in  August,  but  it  is  not  until  early 
September  that  many  appear  south  of  the  breeding 
grounds,  and  in  the  course  of  two  weeks  a  few  birds 
find  their  way  even  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  arriving  there 
by  the  middle  of  September.  Some  early  dates  are: 
Erie,  Pa.,  Sept.  6,  1893;  Alexandria,  Va.,  Sept.  13,  1890; 
Long  Island,  Sept.  15,  1903;  Rhode  Island,  Sept.  4;  east- 
ern Massachusetts,  Sept.  11;  Montreal,  Sept.  3.  The 
main  flight  is  a  whole  month  later,  bringing  the  birds  in 
large  numbers  to  Chesapeake  Bay  the  middle  of  October 
and  to  the  coast  of  North  Carolina  late  in  that  month. 
Some  very  early  migrants  have  been  seen  in  west  central 
Texas  Sept.  4;  at  Corpus  Christi,  Tex.,  Aug.  18,  1902, 
and  at  the  southern  end  of  Lower  California,  Aug.  29. 
The  last  ones  leave  the  Arctic  just  about  the  time  the 
first  reach  the  Gulf  of  Mexico;  the.  last  were  noted  at 
Point  Barrow,  Alaska,  Sept.  7,  1882;  Kowak  River, 
Alaska,  Sept.  14,  1898;  St.  Michael,  Alaska,  Oct.  10; 
Fort  Franklin,  Mackenzie,  Sept.  27,  1903.  Large  flocks 
begin  to  leave  southern  Minnesota  the  middle  of 
October,  and  most  have  departed  by  the  1st  of  No- 
vember. 


APPENDIX  191 

Aix  sponsa  (Linn.)    Wood-duck. 

Breeding  Range. — The  wood-duck  is  more  closely  con- 
fined to  the  United  States  than  any  other  North  Ameri- 
can duck.  South  of  this  country  it  is  not  a  rare  resident 
in  Cuba  and  is  accidental  in  Jamaica  and  the  Bermudas. 
It  occurs  in  California  south  to  Los  Angeles  and  Ventura 
counties,  in  the  latter  of  which  it  breeds.  There  is  a 
single  record  for  Mexico,  at  Mazatlan.  It  breeds  in 
eastern  Texas,  south  rarely  to  San  Antonio;  thence  to 
the  Pacific  slope  and  north  throughout  the  whole  Rocky 
Mountain  region  it  is  rare  or  accidental.  It  is  recorded 
as  breeding  in  southwestern  Colorado  (Fort  Lewis), 
northern  Idaho  (Fort  Sherman),  northern  Montana 
(Flathead  Lake),  and  as  a  rare  migrant  in  various  locali- 
ties south  to  New  Mexico  and  Arizona. 

The  northern  extension  of  its  range  is  found  in  Nova 
Scotia  and  New  Brunswick,  for  the  species  is  not  yet 
recorded  from  Newfoundland,  and  there  seems  to  be  no 
reliable  record  for  Labrador.  It  ranges  at  least  as  far 
north  as  Montreal,  Ottawa,  Moose  Factory,  Trout  Lake 
and  Cumberland  House.  It  appears  to  be  absent  from 
the  Rocky  Mountain  region  of  Canada,  but  occurs  in 
sduthern  British  Columbia  (Agassiz,  Sumas,  Chilliwack 
and  Burnaby  Lake.) 

It  is  one  of  the  earliest  ducks  to  breed,  as  young  were 
found  in  northern  Florida  on  March  19,  1877. 

Winter  Range. — The  southern  range  in  winter  has  al- 
ready been  given;  northward  the  species  winters  regu- 
larly to  North  Carolina,  occasionally  in  Maryland  and 
Pennsylvania;  accidentally  in  New  York  and  Massachu- 
setts. In  the  interior  it  is  found  at  this  season  as  far 
north  as  southern  Indiana,  southern  Illinois  and  Kansas. 


192  APPENDIX 

On  the  Pacific  coast  a  few  winter  near  the  northern  limit 
of  the  summer  range. 

Spring  Migration. — This  duck  is  one  of  those  which 
migrate  north  moderately  early,  and  in  central  New  York 
the  average  date  of  its  arrival  is  March  25  (earliest, 
March  16,  1898);  eastern  Massachusetts,  March  24; 
Montreal,  Can.,  April  24;  central  Iowa,  March  20  (ear- 
liest, March  7,  1898)  ;  northern  Ohio,  April  1  (earliest, 
March  10,  1887);  Petersburg,  Mich.,  March  15;  southern 
Ontario,  April  17  (earliest,  April  1,  1890) ;  Ottawa,  Ont. 
(average  fifteen  years),  April  22  (earliest,  March  26, 
1898) ;  Heron  Lake,  Minn.,  April  4  (earliest,  March  24, 
1890) ;  Elk  River,  Minn.,  April  6  (earliest,  April  4,  1885) ; 
southern  Manitoba,  April  15  (earliest,  April  2,  1895.) 

Fall  Migration. — The  southward  migration  amounts  to 
no  more  than  withdrawal  from  the  northern  half  of  the 
summer  range.  This  occurs  largely  during  October,  and 
the  average  date  when  the  last  migrants  are  seen  at  Ot- 
tawa, Ont.  (fourteen  years),  is  Oct.  27  (latest,  Nov.  7, 
1896) ;  Montreal,  Nov.  1 ;  southern  Maine,  Oct.  27  (latest, 
Nov.  2,  1896;  southern  Iowa,  Nov.  9  (latest,  Nov.  21.) 

Aythya  americana  (Eyt.)     Redhead. 

Breeding  Range. — The  greater  number  of  redheads 
summer  in  a  rather  restricted  area  in  western  central 
Canada,  comprising  western  Manitoba,  Alberta  and  Sas- 
katchewan. The  species  breeds  not  rarely  in  the  northern 
portions  of  Minnesota,  North  Dakota  and  Montana.  It 
is  less  common  in  southern  Minnesota  (Madison,  Heron 
Lake),  southern  South  Dakota  (Harrison,  Vermilion), 
Idaho  (Lake  Hoodoo),  and  on  the  Pacific  slope  locally 
from  Lac  la  Hache,  British  Columbia,  south  to  southern 


APPENDIX  193 

California  (Ventura  and  Los  Angeles  counties),  and  east 
to  Ruby  Lake,  Nevada,  and  Rush  Lake,  Utah.  The  red- 
head used  to  breed  not  uncommonly  in  the  great  marshes 
of  the  lake  region  of  southeastern  Wisconsin,  but  now  it 
is  restricted  to  a  few  localities,  one  of  which  is  Lake 
Koshkonong.  It  has  bred  on  the  St.  Clair  Flats  of  Mich- 
igan and  Ontario. 

Only  a  few  pass  as  far  north  as  54°  latitude,  the  north- 
ern range  of  the  species  thus  being  more  restricted  than 
that  of  any  other  Canadian  duck.  A  stray  was  taken  in 
1896  on  Kadiak  Island,  Alaska,  the  only  record  on  the 
Pacific  coast  north  of  Vancouver  Island,  and  an  indi- 
vidual was  taken  in  the  fall  in  southeastern  Labrador. 
It  is  not  yet  recorded  in  Newfoundland,  and  is  a  rare 
migrant  in  the  Maritime  Provinces. 

Aythya  vallisneria  (Wils.)     Canvasback. 

Breeding  Range. — The  district  just  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  in  Alberta  seems  to  be  a  center  of  abundance 
of  this  species  in  the  breeding  season.  East  of  this  dis- 
trict it  breeds  commonly  to  about  the  one  hundredth 
meridian;  south  to  the  southern  boundary  of  Canada, 
west  to  central  British  Columbia  and  Sitka,  north  to 
Great  Slave  Lake,  and  northwest  to  Gens  de  large  Moun- 
tains and  Fort  Yukon.  It  does  not  commonly  breed  in 
the  United  States,  but  a  few  nest  in  northern  North  Da- 
kota and  in  diminishing  numbers  southward  to  Ne- 
braska (Cody,  Irwin,  Hackberry  Lake)  ;  it  is  rare  as  a 
breeder  in  Minnesota  (Madison,  Heron  Lake),  and  a  few 
crippled  birds  have  been  known  to  breed  on  Lake  Kosh- 
konong, Wisconsin.  In  1900  it  bred  casually  at  Barr 
Lake,  near  Denver,  Colo.,  and  it  has  been  known  to 


194  APPENDIX 

breed  at  Pyramid  Lake,  Nevada,  and  in  a  few  places  in 
Oregon. 

Aythya  marila  (Linn.)     Scaup  Duck;  Broadbill;  Black- 
head; Bluebill. 

Breeding  Range. — The  principal  summer  home  of  the 
scaup  in  the  Western  Hemisphere  is  northwestern  North 
America,  from  northern  North  Dakota,  southeastern. 
British  Columbia  and  Sitka,  Alaska,  north  to  Fort 
Churchill,  Great  Slave  Lake,  Fort  Reliance,  Alaska,  and 
Kotzebue  Sound;  also  throughout  the  whole  Aleutian 
chain  to  the  Near  Islands.  It  breeds  accidentally  or 
casually  at  Mount  Vernon,  Va.,  1881 ;  Magdalen  Islands, 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence ;  Toronto,  Ont. ;  St.  Clair  Flats, 
Michigan ;  Clear  Lake,  Iowa ;  Minneapolis  and  Fergus 
Falls,  Minn.,  and  Great  Whale  River,  James  Bay. 

The  species  also  breeds  in  the  Arctic  regions  of  the 
Old  World,  and  winters  south  to  southern  Europe  and 
central  Asia. 

Aythya  affinis  (Eyt.)     Lesser  Scaup  Duck. 

Breeding  Range. — In  the  case  of  this  species  a  distinc- 
tion needs  to  be  drawn  between  the  breeding  range  and 
the  summer  range.  Quite  a  number  of  nonbreeding  indi- 
viduals spend  the  summer  many  miles  south  of  the  nest- 
ing grounds,  so  that  the  eggs  or  young  are  the  only  cer- 
tain evidence  that  the  species  breeds.  These  nonbreed- 
ing birds  are  not  rare  on  the  New  England  coast,  Long 
Island  Sound  and  the  Great  Lakes.  The  lesser  scaup 
does  not  breed  regularly  in  northeastern  United  States 
nor  in  any  of  the  Maritime  Provinces;  indeed,  there  is 
scarcely  a  breeding  record  for  the  whole  of  North  Amer- 


APPENDIX  195 

ica  east  of  Hudson  Bay  and  Lake  Huron.  The  extreme 
easterly  points  at  which  the  species  breeds  are  around 
Lake  St.  Clair  and  the  western  end  of  Lake  Erie  in  Ohio, 
Michigan  and  Ontario;  thence  westward,  a  few  breed 
in  northern  Indiana  (Kewanna,  English  Lake),  southern 
Wisconsin  (Delavan,  Lake  Koshkonong),  northern  Iowa 
(Spirit  Lake,  Clear  Lake),  northern  Nebraska  (probably 
in  Cherry  County),  Montana  (common)  and  central  Brit- 
ish Columbia  (Cariboo  District.)  The  species  is  rather 
rare  on  the  Pacific  coast  and  seems  to  have  been  found 
only  once  on  the  coast  of  Alaska  (Portage  Bay,  near  Chil- 
kat  River),  though  not  rare  inland  on  the  Yukon  River, 
breeding  as  far  north  as  Circle  City.  The  principal  breed- 
ing range  of  the  lesser  scaup  is  the  interior  of  Canada, 
from  northern  North  Dakota  and  northern  Montana  to 
the  edge  of  the  timber  near  the  Arctic  coast  in  the  Ander- 
son River  and  the  Mackenzie  River  regions. 

Migration  Range. — The  route  of  migration  in  the  fall 
evidently  tends  toward  the  southeast,  for  at  this  season 
the  species  is  not  uncommon  in  New  England  and  is  a 
rare  visitant  of  Nova  Scotia  and  even  of  Newfoundland 
and  is  accidental  in  Greenland  and  the  Bermudas. 

Aythya  collaris  (Donov.)     Ring-necked  Duck. 

Breeding  Range. — The  summer  home  of  this  species 
seems  to  comprise  two  general  areas  separated  by  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  The  greater  number  breed  in  the  in- 
terior, from  North  Dakota  and  Minnesota  north  to  Atha- 
baska  Lake  and  east  to  the  western  side  of  Lake  Winni- 
peg. It  breeds  rarely  south  to  southern  Minnesota  (Min- 
neapolis, Heron  Lake),  northern  Iowa  (Clear  Lake)  and 
to  southern  Wisconsin  (Lake  Koshkonong;  Pewaukee 


196  APPENDIX 

Lake.)  Though  eventually  the  species  may  be  found 
breeing  in  Alberta,  at  present  there  seems  to  be  no  cer- 
tain nesting  record  for  the  entire  Rocky  Mountain  chain 
from  New  Mexico  to  Alberta.  West  of  the  Rockies  the 
ring-necked  duck  seems  to  breed  in  small  numbers  from 
Fort  Klamath,  Ore.,  to  southern  British  Columbia  (Cari- 
boo District.)  It  is  said  to  breed  also  on  the  Near  Islands, 
Alaska. 

Clangula  clangula  americana   (Bonap.)     American  Gol- 
den-eye. 

Breeding  Range. — This  is  one  of  the  more  northern- 
breeding  ducks,  but  its  choice  of  hollow  trees  as  nesting 
sites  prevents  the  extension  of  its  breeding  range  into  the 
treeless  Arctic  regions,  to  which  it  seems  well  suited  by 
its  hardy  constitution.  It  has  been  noted  north  to  Un- 
gava  Bay,  Labrador;  Fort  Churchill,  Hudson  Bay,  and 
Fort  Good  Hope,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  River. 
It  is  probable  that  the  species  breeds  in  the  heavy  timber 
nearest  to  these  places.  In  Alaska  it  breeds  commonly  in 
the  interior  about  as  far  north  as  the  Arctic  Circle,  but  is 
very  rarely  seen  on  the  coast.  The  species  breeds  from 
Newfoundland  to  British  Columbia,  north  to  the  Noatak 
River,  but  the  breeding  range  extends  only  a  little  into 
the  United  States,  to  southern  Maine  (Calais,  Magallo- 
way  River),  northern  New  Hampshire  (Lake  Umbagog), 
northern  Vermont  (St.  Johnsbury),  northern  New  York 
(Adirondacks),  northern  Michigan  (Neebish  Island, 
Sault  Ste.  Marie),  North  Dakota  (Devils  Lake),  Mon- 
tana (Flathead  Lake)  and  in  British  Columbia  so  close 
to  the  southern  boundary  that  the  species  will  probably 
be  found  to  breed  in  northern  Washington. 


APPENDIX  197 

A  typical  form,  Clangula  clangula,  breeds  in  northern 
Europe  and  northern  Asia,  migrating  southward  to  north- 
ern Africa  and  southern  Asia. 

Charitonetta  albeola  (Linn.)    Buffle-head. 

Breeding  Range. — In  the  nesting  season  the  buffle-head 
is  almost  wholly  confined  to  Canada,  but  a  few  breed  in 
Wisconsin  (Pewaukee  Lake),  northern  Iowa  (Storm, 
Clear  and  Spirit  Lakes),  Wyoming  (Meeteetse  Creek), 
Montana  (Milk  River,  Flathead  Lake.)  It  is  a  tolerably 
common  breeder  in  the  northern  two-thirds  of  Ontario, 
and  undoubtedly  some  pairs  breed  in  Quebec  and  south- 
ern Labrador,  though  it  is  as  yet  unrecorded  from  there, 
from  the  Maritime  Provinces  and  from  Newfoundland, 
except  as  a  rather  rare  visitant.  In  Manitoba  and  west- 
ward to  British  Columbia  it  becomes  more  common  as  a 
breeder  and  ranges  north  to  Fort  Churchill,  Fort  Rae,  the 
mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  and  the  upper  Yukon,  rarely  to 
the  Yukon  mouth.  It  has  been  taken  as  a  rare  straggler 
on  the  west  coast  of  Greenland  (Godhaven,  October; 
Frederikshaab),  and  a  few  times  in  Europe. 

Erismatura  jamaicensis  (Gmel.)     Ruddy  Duck. 

Breeding  Range. — The  principal  summer  home  of  the 
ruddy  duck  is  in  the  upper  Mississippi  Valley  and  the 
contiguous  portions  of  central  Canada ;  it  is  rare  east  of 
the  Alleghenies ;  breeds  regularly  from  Maine  to  northern 
Ungava;  rare  visitant  in  Newfoundland;  nesting  rarely 
south  to  Massachusetts  (Cape  Cod)  and  probably  in 
Rhode  Island  (Sakonnet)  ;  tolerably  common  in  southern 
Ontario,  Michigan  and  Wisconsin,  and  probably  breeds 
casually  in  Ohio  and  Illinois.  West  of  the  Mississippi  it 


198  APPENDIX 

breeds  regularly  to  southern  Minnesota  and  northwestern 
Nebraska  and  rarely  in  Kansas.  The  breeding  range  then 
dips  strongly  to  the  south  in  the  mountains  through  Colo- 
rado to  northern  New  Mexico  (La  Jara  and  Stinking 
Spring  Lakes),  central  Arizona  (Stoneman  Lake,  alti- 
tude 6,200  feet),  southern  California  (Los  Angeles 
County)  northern  Lower  California  to  about  latitude  31° 
and  probably  northwestern  Chihuahua  (Pacheco.)  The 
breeding  range  on  the  Pacific  slope  extends  north  at 
least  to  central  British  Columbia  (Cariboo  District)  ;  in 
the  interior  to  Great  Slave  Lake  and  Hudson  Bay  (York 
Factory.)  The  above  is  the  normal  breeding  range,  but 
this  species  has  the  peculiar  habit  of  establishing  colonies 
far  to  the  southward.  Such  colonies  have  been  discov- 
ered at  Santiago,  near  the  southern  end  of  Lower  Cali- 
fornia, in  the  Valley  of  Mexico,  at  the  Lake  of  Duenas, 
Guatemala,  and  on  the  islands  of  Cuba,  Porto  Rico  and 
Carriacou.  The  breeding  season  of  these  isolated  colo- 
nies bears  no  relation  to  the  usual  breeding  time  in  the 
bird's  ordinary  range.  In  northern  North  Dakota  the 
earliest  eggs  are  deposited  the  first  week  in  June;  Mani- 
toba and  Saskatchewan  incomplete  sets  were  found  the 
middle  of  June;  the  same  date — the  middle  of  June — 
marks  the  deposition  of  the  eggs  in  central  Colorado. 
The  first  half  of  June  may  be  said  to  be  the  usual  time  for 
the  beginning  of  nesting.  On  Cape  Cod,  Massachusetts, 
downy  young  were  taken  Aug.  17;  in  northern  New  Mex- 
ico, Sept.  17;  in  southern  Lower  California,  Nov.  16;  at 
Lake  Duenas,  Guatemala,  in  June;  while  in  Cuba  and 
Porto  Rico  eggs  were  taken  in  November,  and  on  Car- 
riacou Island  in  January. 

THE   END. 


A  PROPOSED  LAW  FOR  BREEDERS 


An  Act  to  Encourage  the  Rapid  Increase  of  Game  and 
Game  Fish 

SECTION  1.  Farmers  and  other  land  owners  and  their  les- 
sees who  undertake  in  good  faith  to  increase  game  or  game 
fish  shall  be  known  and  designated  as  game  breeders. 

SEC.  2.  Any  game  breeder  may  make  application  to  the 
State  game  officer  or  officers  (here  insert  the  title  of  the 
Warden  or  Commission)  for  a  license  permitting  the  appli- 
cant to  engage  in  the  industry  of  game  or  game  fish  rearing. 
Such  application  shall  state  that  the  applicant  intends  in 
good  faith  to  increase  the  game  or  game  fish  either  by  hand 
rearing  in  captivity  or  wild  in  the  woods,  fields  or  waters; 
and  shall  contain  a  description  by  metes  and  bounds,  of  the 
lands  or  waters  to  be  used  for  the  industry  aforesaid.  Said 
State  game  officer,  when  it  shall  appear  that  such  application 
is  made  in  good  faith  for  the  purpose  aforesaid  shall  issue  a 
license  permitting  said  breeder  to  take  his  game  or  fish  on 
the  lands  or  waters  during  the  open  season  for  preserved 
game  and  game  fish  and  to  sell  the  same  alive  for  propa- 
gation or  as  food  as  hereinafter  provided. 

SEC.  3.  The  open  season  for  breeders  shall  be  for  game 
from  September  1  to  March  1  both  inclusive:  for  game  fish 
from  April  1  to  December  31,  both  inclusive.  Live  game  may 
be  sold  at  any  time  for  propagation  by  breeders  to  breeders. 

SEC.  4.  Game  and  game  fish  when  sold  as  food  shall  only 
be  sold  to  licensed  game  dealers,  who  shall  be  required  to  give 
a  bond  conditioned  that  they  will  not  purchase  or  sell  any 
game  excepting  only  game  from  licensed  breeders  properly 
identified  as  herein  provided ;  and  foreign  game,  which  shall  be 
identified  in  like  manner  and  which  may  be  imported  during 


the  open  season  for  breeders.  The  State  game  officer  (here 
insert  title)  shall  issue  licenses  to  dealers  authorizing  them 
to  sell  the  game  and  game  fish  reared  by  breeders  and  game 
legally  imported  from  foreign  countries  and  other  States, 
upon  the  payment  of  the  sum  of  $50.  [This  amount  might 
be  made  smaller  for  small  towns. — EDITOR.] 

SEC.  5.  All  licensed  game  dealers  shall  keep  a  game  reg- 
ister and  shall  enter  on  the  same  all  game  received  and  sold, 
stating  the  kind  and  amount;  from  whom  purchased,  and  the 
date  of  shipment.  Said  register  shall  be  open  to  inspection  at 
all  times  by  the  State  game  officers. 

SEC.  6.  Breeders  who  wish  to  sell  game  to  be  used  as  food 
shall  sell  and  ship  said  game  only  in  packages  plainly  marked 
with  the  name  of  the  breeder,  the  date  of  sale,  and  the  name 
of  the  licensed  dealer  to  whom  said  game  is  sold.  Said  pack- 
ages shall  also  contain  a  label  stating  the  kind  and  amount 
of  game  or  game  fish  contained  in  the  package  and  a  copy  of 
this  label  shall  be  forwarded  to  the  State  game  officer  on  or 
before  the  date  of  such  sale. 

SEC.  7.  Individuals  and  common  carriers  shall  not  receive 
or  carry  any  game  sold  unless  the  package  shall  be  plainly 
marked  as  aforesaid.  The  penalty  for  a  violation  of  this 
section  shall  be  $100. 

SEC.  8.  Game  dealers  shall  file  an  affidavit  at  the  end  of 
the  open  season  for  breeders  stating  that  they  have  not  sold 
any  game  or  game  fish  contrary  to  law. 

SEC.  9.  Any  game  dealer  who  shall  violate  any  of  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act  or  who  shall  fail  to  file  the  affidavit  afore- 
said shall  forfeit  his  license  and  shall  also  pay  a  fine  of 
$1,000. 

SEC.  10.  Any  person  who  shall  enter  upon  the  lands  owned 
or  leased  by  breeders  with  gun  or  fishing  rod  or  other  device 
for  taking  game  or  game  fish  shall  be  fined  in  the  sum  of  $25 
and  shall  also  pay  the  breeder  $25  exemplary  damages  and  $5 
for  each  game  mammal,  bird  or  fish  taken  or  destroyed  to  be 
recovered  in  a  civil  action. 

SEC.  11.  Game  and  Fish  laws  and  laws  protecting  vermin 
shall  not  apply  to  breeders  who  are  engaged  in  the  industry  of 
increasing  the  game  and  fish. 


INDEX 


• 


FEEDING  WILD  DUCKS  IN  CENTRAL  PARK,  NEW  YORK 


INDEX 


ACORNS,  42 

Allamuchy,  N.  J.,  ducks  at,  69 

Amateur    Sportsman,    quoted, 

16,  17,  33,  41,  77,  78,  82,  83, 

92,  137 

American  duck  clubs,  97 
American  golden-eye,  196 
American  Field,  quoted,  88 
Annual  dues,  108 
Appetite  for  legislation,  112 
Artificial  ponds,  6,  23,  24 
Artificial  rearing,  15,  49 
Artificial  shooting,  123,  124 
Ashby  decoy,  18 
Attractive       preserves,       how 

made,  23 
Audubon,  cited,  55 

BALDPATE,  171 

Bantams,  52 

Barn  owl,  76 

Bartram's  sandpiper,  153 

Beechnuts,  42 

Big  bags,  6,  131 

Black  duck,  9;  domestication 
of,  10;  at  Fisher's  Island, 
69;  breeding  range  migra- 
tion, 166 

Black-head,  9,  194 

Blood,  bait,  83 

Bluebill,  194 


Blue-winged  teal,  101,  178 

Bonnett,  quoted,  31,  103 

Brambles,  29 

Brant,  144 

Breeding  ground,  2;  canvas- 
back,  3;  destruction  of,  4; 
value  of,  4;  see  appendix 

Breeders'  law,  141,  159;  in 
Colorado,  160 

Breeders  of  game,  1,  101 

Breeding,  locally  by  clubs,  4; 
canvasbacks,  10;  sea  ducks, 
10;  simple,  17 

Breeding  places,  19,  20 

Breeding  range,  12;  see  ap- 
pendix 

Brewster,  William,  quoted,  80 

Briars,  29 

Broadbill,  194 

Brushwood,  29 

Buffle-head,  197 

Bureau  of  Biological  Survey, 
160;  see  appendix 

Burroughs,  John,  quoted,  86 

CACKLING  GOOSE,  144 
California  marshes,  32 
Canada,  10 
Canada  goose,  11,  33 
Canada  goslings,  51 
Canvasback,        9 ;        breeding 


201 


202 


INDEX 


ground,  3;  market  value,  10, 
155,  193 

Carleton,  quoted,  2 

Carnegie,  quoted,  95 

Carp,  43,  96 

Cats,  15,  75,  93,  146,  150 

Cat-tails,  29 

Celery,  wild,  10,  27,  41 

Central  Park,  N.  Y.,  70 

Chamberlain,  quoted,  98 

Checks  to  increase,  73;  see 
vermin 

Cinnamon  teal,  9,  181 

Clement,  H.  P.,  quoted,  150 

Clipping,  38 

Club,  how  to  form,  105,  108; 
contract,  109;  board  of  di- 
rectors, 110;  shooting  leases, 
110 

Clubs,  Ottawa,  83;  in  Massa- 
chusetts, 117 

Cobb,  Nathan,  quoted,  80 

Colorado's  game  commissioner, 
151 

Cooke,  quoted,  3,  141 

Cooper's  hawk,  84 

Coops,  59 

Cornmeal,  51 

Cost,  making  ponds  attractive, 
30;  of  good  shooting,  30; 
wild  ducks  in  England,  34 

Cover,  27 

Cramp,  63 

Cranberries,  25 

Crimes,  112 

Crow,  81,  82 

Cruelty,  127 

Cygnets,  51 

DAMS,  24 
Darwin,  quoted,  73 


Dealers,    in    wild    ducks    and 

eggs,  33;  foods,  40 
Decoy,  18;  note 
Decoy  men,  19 
Decrease  of  game,  16,  125 
Deer  farming,  16 
Deserting,  121,  123 
Destruction        of        breeding 

grounds,  4 

Difficult  shooting,  132 
Divers,  sea  ducks,  9 
Diseases,  128 
Dogs,  15,  75;   useful,  89;   96, 

140 

Dog  whistle,  66 
Domestic  enemies,  27 
Double-brooded,  21 
Drakes,  37 

Draining  marshes,  2,  12 
Ducks,  sale  of,  5;  imported,  6; 

experiments    with,    7;    food 

value,  7;  half-bred,  18;  age 

of,     21;     attitude     towards 

game  fish,  26;   food  of,   27; 

tame  in  presence  of  owner,  66 
Duck  breeding,  simple,  17 
Duck  clubs,  41,  103,  117 
Duck  decoy,  18;  note 
Duck  hawk,  18 
Duck  preserve,  best  place  for, 

25 

Duck  shooting,  25 
Ducklings,  easy  to  rear,  131 
Ducks'  paradise,  3,  25 
Dusky  duck,  domestication  of, 

10 
Dutcher,  Dr.,  68 

EAGLE,  78,  79 
Earthworms,  152 
Economic  question,  158 


INDEX 


203 


Economic  value  of  ducks,  161 

Edgar,  George,  6,  60 

Edmonton,  Alberta,  3 

Eggs,  sale  of,  5;  imported,  6; 
stealing,  12;  prices,  16;  pur- 
chase of,  31,  35;  fragile,  52 

Eel  grass,  46 

Eel-grass,  46 

Elopements,  37 

English  books  and  magazines, 
7 

English  duck  farmers,  5,  15,  31 

English  sparrows,  86 

English  syndicates,  103 

English  teal,  11 

Evans,  Wallace,  quoted,  33; 
game  farm,  33;  duck-meal, 
50 

FARMERS,  7;  game  laws  inimi- 
cal to,  159 

Fairview  Farm  on  Hudson,  34 

Feeding  grounds,  2 

Fell's  reservation,  81 

Ferrets,  96 

Field,  Dr.,  quoted,  85 

Fish,  attitude  of  ducks  to- 
wards, 26 

Fisher,  Dr.,  quoted,  147 

Fisheries,  commissioner  of,  26 

Fisher's  Island,  69 

Flicker,  150 

Florida   dusky  duck,   101,   169 

"Flyers,"  118 

Food,  21;  fresh  supply,  24,  26, 
27,  40;  insect,  28;  grain,  40 

Forester,  Frank,  quoted,  148 

Forbush,  quoted,  69,  86 

Fox,  22,  72,  89,  90 

Foxtail  grass,  41 

Frogs,  46,  88 


Fryer,  quoted,  89,  94 

Furry  enemies,  78;  see  vermin 

GADWALL,  170 

Game,  abandonment  of  native, 
158 

Game,  overflow  of,  7;  decrease, 
16 

Game  enemies,  superabundant, 
74;  see  vermin 

Game  farmers,  15 

Game  farms,  31,  33,  34 

Gamekeeper,  40;  experiments, 
5;  education  of,  77;  neces- 
sity for,  101,  105;  wages, 
106;  successful  in  America, 
128 

Game  keeping,  10 

Game  officers,  117,  158 

Game  parks,  4,  5 

Game  preserve,  10 

Game  preserving,  scientific,  73 

Game  prices,  132;  note 

Game  protective  associations, 
102,  111 

Game  refuges,  4,  5,  125 

Game  register,  113 

Geese,  wild,  9;  luring,  114, 133; 
nesting  in  captivity,  134; 
prices,  134;  eggs,  134;  re- 
quirements for  breeding,  136; 
water  for,  138;  incubation, 
139;  dogs,  140;  second  clutch, 
decreasing,  140;  in  Alaska, 
141 ;  summer  home,  142 

Golden-eye,  9,  196 

Goose  callers,  118 

Goshawk,  84 

Gray  ranch,  66 

Green-winged  teal,  9,  175 

Ground  enemies,  78;  see  ver- 
min, 88,  89,  etc. 


204 


INDEX 


Guinea  hen,  6 
Gun  clubs,  111 

HALF-BRED  WILD  DUCKS,  18 

Hamilton,  Dr.,  quoted,  71 

Hand-reared  duck,  121 

Hand-rearing,  5,  12,  38,  101 

Hatching  house,  52 

Hawk,  77,  83,  84,  85 

Hawks  and  owls,  86 

Hawk  trap,  75 

Heath-hen,  155 

Hens,  35 

Heron,  78,  87 

Highland,  N.   Y.,  game  farm, 

34 

Horn,  use  of,  66 
Howard,  Anson  O.,  82;  note 
Howe,  W.  A.,  quoted,  43 
Hutchins  goose,  143 

ILLINOIS  GAME  FARM,  82 
Inbreeding,  18,  122 
Increase  of  game,  125 
Incubators,  12,  56 
Industry,  profitable,  106;  pre- 
vented, 117. 
Insects,  47,  50 
Intruders,  27,  30 
Islands,  29,  30,  90 

JAYS,  76,  78,  87 

Job,  H.  K.,  quoted,  16 

Jones,  Owen,  quoted,  71,  76,  89 

KEEPERS,  education,  77 ;  attitude 
of,  77;  see  gamekeepers,  40 
Kite,  75 

LAKE  WORTH,  FLA.,  69 
Lantz,  quoted,  94 


Law,  every  restriction  tried, 
125 

Law,  for  breeders,  141,  159;  in 
Colorado,  160 

Lawrence,  R.  B.,  quoted,  88 

Laws,  relating  to  game  ene- 
mies, 72 

Laws,  restricting  sport,  2,  4, 
156;  English  game  act,  34; 
trespass,  103;  time  to  stop 
making,  103 

Leach,  Warren  R.,  quoted,  137 

Leases,  shooting,  110 

Legislation,  appetite  for,  112 

Lesser  scaup  duck,  194 

License,  103 

Licensed  dealers,  101 

Long  Island  preserve,  35 

Luring  ducks  and  geese,  114 

MACPHERSON,     REV.     H.     A., 

quoted,  75,  85 
MacFarlane,  quoted,  81 
Magpies,  76,  78,  87 
Mallard,  6;  best  duck  for  game 

preserve,  10;  on  open  ponds, 

29,    101;    experiments    with, 

120,  162,  169 
Mallard  eggs,  35 
Mandarin  duck,  33 
Manure,  use  of,  152 
Marsh  hawk,  85 
Marshes,  32 
Market,  how  supplied,  5 
Market  gunners,  6 
Marthas  Vineyard,  85 
Mast,  29,  42 
Meals,  50 

Merit  of  field  sports,  35 
Middlesex  Fells  reservation,  69 
Migration,  appendix 


INDEX 


205 


Migratory  birds,  37 

Mink,  90 

Minnesota,  10 

Mohler,  J.  R.,  report  of,  130 

Mole,  91 

Mormon  goose,  138 

Muskrat,  92 

NATURAL  ENEMIES,  15,  21,  27, 

71 

Natural  foods,  40,  44,  45,  47 
Nests,  49,  54 
Nesting  grounds,  2 
Nesting  season,  21 
Netherby  Hall,  6 
New  Bedford,  black  ducks  at, 

69 

Northrup,  King  &  Co.,  40 
North  Dakota,  10 
Number  of  drakes,  37 
Nut  plantation,  151 

GATES,   CAPT.,   quoted,   22,  32, 

note,  37,  49,  53,  94 
O'Conor,  J.  C.,  quoted,  96 
Ophthalmia,  129 
Oregon,  10 

Organisms  in  mud,  27 
Ottawa  club,  96 
Our  Feathered   Game,  quoted, 

100,  113;  cited,  144,  153 
Owl,  86;  decoy  owl,  82 
Overflow  of  game,  7,  125 

PARADISE,  WILD  DUCKS'  3,  25, 

100,  see  map 
Pheasants,  6,  38 
Pierce,  Dr.  R.  V.,  41,  quoted,  44 
Pike,  89,  92 
Pinioning,  37,  38 
Pin-tailed  duck,  186 
Plover,  146 


Plover  eggs,  147 

Poison,  83 

Polygamy,  21 

Ponds,  artificial,  6;  location  of, 
24 ;  abundant  in  America,  25 ; 
desirable,  28;  without  cover, 
how  made  attractive,  29; 
public,  102 

Potamogeton,  44 

Prairie  grouse,  75,  154 

Preferred  stockholders,  108 

Prejudice,  102 

Preserve,  23 

Price,  quoted,  81 

Prices,  ducks,  15;  eggs,  16;  in 
England,  32,  34;  rented 
hens,  35;  market,  132,  note; 
geese,  134;  eggs  in  America, 
35;  ducks  in  America,  36 

Princess  Anne  club,  99 

Propagation,  5,  23,  24 

Protective  associations,  102 

Public  waters,  102 

Purchase,  time  to,  36 

QUAIL  PRESERVES,  ducks  on,  24, 

25 
Quiet,  24 

RABBITS,  81;  foxes'  bread  and 
butter,  89;  buffers  of  peace, 
90 

Ragged  Island  club,  99 

Ranch,  duck,  25 

Rats,  75,  94,  119 

Reeds  and  rushes,  29 

Redden  Quail  club,  151 

Redhead  duck,  9 ;  market  value, 
10;  breeding  range  and  mi- 
gration, 192 

Red-headed  woodpecker,  78 


206 


INDEX 


Red-legged  black  duck,  167 
Refuges,  4,  5 
Remnant  of  game,  74 
Rental,  shooting,  105 
Restoration  of  wild  fowl,  114 
Ring-necked  duck,  195 
Robin,  150 
Rooks,  76 
Ruddy  duck,  9,  197 
Ruffed  grouse,  74 
Rushes,  29 

Safe  preserves,  23 

Sage  grouse,  81 

Sale  of  game,  101;  of  ducks, 
105 

Saltings,  34 

Scaup  duck,  9,  194 

Sea  ducks,  9;  protection  of,  10 

Security,  21 

Seton,  Ernest  T.,  quoted,  134 

Sharp-shinned  hawk,  84 

Sharp-tailed  grouse,  81 

Shaw,  quoted,  24,  29,  53,  115, 
116 

Shaw,  Dr.,  69 

Shields,  editor  Shields'  Maga- 
zine, 66 

Shiras,  Geo.,  33,  83 

Shooting,  on  preserves,  120, 
126;  difficult,  32;  rental,  105 

Shore  birds,  7,  145  to  155 

Shotgun,  83 

Shoveller,  9,  183 

Skunk, 119 

Small  shoots,  23 

Smartweed,  45 

Snipe,  7,  146;  food  of,  152 

Sparrow  hawk,  77 

Spratt's  Patent,  Ltd.,  50 


Sprig-tailed  duck,  9;  in  Eng- 
land, 10;  pin-tail,  186 

Stacks,  22 

State  game  officers,  15 

Stomach  examinations,  85 

Straddles,  128 

Stuyvesant  farm,  6 

Stuyvesant,  Rutherford,  6 

St.  Vincent's  Island,  45 

Sunstroke,  129 

Swamps,  7 

Swans,  9,  11;  black  Australian, 
51 

Syndicates,  5,  106;  estimate  of 
cost,  107,  note;  shares  in, 
107;  number  of  members, 
108;  how  formed,  109 

TAME  GAME,  127 

Teal,  9;  in  England,  10;  taken 

by  hawk,  84 
Ten  years  of  game  keeping,  72, 

note 

Terrell,  C.  B.,  40 
Thompson,  quoted,  77,  78,  82 
Titusville,  Fla.,  ducks  at,  68 
Tolleston  club,  102 
Townsend,  Chas.  C.,  quoted,  66 
Tracy,  Tom,  21 
Trap,  37;  vermin  traps,  50 
Trapping,   37;    see   decoy,    18, 

note,  vermin  83 
Trespassers,  15,  146 
Trout,  26 
Turtles,  92 

UPLAND  GAME,  38,  108 

Upland  plover,  153 

U.  S.  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture, 16;  appendix 

Utah,  ducks  dying  from  dis- 
ease, 129 


INDEX 


207 


VERMIN,  22,  50 ;  use  of  word  in 
America,  71,  72,  73,  74;  im- 
possible to  exterminate  in 
England,  75,  76,  77;  benefi- 
cial, 78;  79  to  96;  108,  145, 
149 

Von  Lengerke  &  Detmold,  82 

WADERS,  7;  protection  of,  8; 
145  to  155 

Wapato,  10,  27,  43 

Ware,  R.  H.,  quoted,  118 

Waste  places,  7 

Water,  24 

Water  cress,  47 

Weasels,  90 

Wenz  &  Mackensen,  33 

Whealton,  11;  quoted,  46; 
geese,  133,  136,  137 

Whealton,  wild  water  fowl 
farms,  33 

White,  R.  B.,  40 

Widgeon,  England,  10;  Ameri- 
can, 171 

Widgeon  grass,  45 

Willows,  29,  30 

Wild  breeding,  38,  134 

Wild  celery,  10,  27,  41 

Wild  ducks,  9;  paradise,  3; 
sale  of,  5;  imported,  6;  ex- 
periments with,  7;  food 
value,  7;  aesthetic  value,  9; 
fresh  water  ducks,  9;  sea 
ducks,  9 ;  for  sport  and  profit, 
14;  prices  of,  15;  food  of, 
27;  trapping,  37 


Wild  fowl,  not  true  game  in 
England;  see  ducks,  geese, 
swans,  etc. 

Wild  fowlers,  6 

Wild  geese,  9;  breeding 
ground,  11 

Wild  rice,  27,  28,  41;  bulletins 
on,  42 

Wilson,  Hon.  Woodrow,  112, 
note 

Wilson  snipe,  154 

Wild  turkey,  155 

Winged  enemies,  78;  see  ver- 
min 

Winous  Point  club,  96 

Wisconsin,  10 

Wolves,  72,  90 

Woodcock,  7,  145,  147,  148; 
food  of,  152;  useful  hint  as 
to,  152 

Wood-duck,  9,  33;  nesting 
places,  10;  domestication,  11 ; 
price,  36,  18,  152,  191 

Woodpecker,  78 

Woodruffe-Peacock,  Rev.  Adri- 
an, quoted,  17,  129 

YARDLEY,  PA.,  33 

Yellow-legs,  146,  154 

Young  ducks,  59;  feeding,  61; 

taking  to  water,  62;  on  the 

pond,  65 

ZOOLOGICAL  PARK,  N.  Y.,  ducks 
bred  in,  70;  crows  in,  81 


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The  plan  of  tMs  volume  is  similar  to  that  of  "Our  Feathered 
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antlers,  or  a  lot  of  skins  in  the  search  for  a  tenth  caribou  (all 
caribou,  like  coons,  look  alike  to  me),  but  to  the  forests  and 
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ping now  and  then  to  observe  the  lovely  backgrounds,  or  make 
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umes are  intended  as  a  complete  review  of  shooting  in  America 
as  it  is  today.  As  in  the  former  volume,  the  greater  space  is 
given  to  those  animals  deserving  of  it. 

CHICAGO  EVENING   POST 

"Mr.  Huntington  is  an  authority  on  everything  which  relates 
to  game." 

THE    OUTLOOK 
"A  valuable  and  exceedingly  interesting  volume." 

BROOKLYN     EAGLE 

"Certain  to  delight  any  sportsman  or  naturalist,  and  alsi 
that  larger  class  of  men  with  good  red  blood  in  their  veins, 
who  must  hunt  and  have  adventures  vicariously." 

BOSTON     ICERALD 

"Written  by  one  who  has  not  only  been  a  sportsman,  but 
who  knows  how  to  tell  his  story  entertainingly." 

INDIANAPOLIS    STAR 

"An  authority  in  its  line." 

NEW    YORK     TIMES    REVIEW 

"The  book  provides  both  amusement  and  instruction,  and  is 
enlivened  by  the  true  sportsman's  enthusiasm." 


FOR  SALE  BY 

THE  AMATEUR  SPORTSMAN  CO. 

18-20  East  42d  Street 
NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 


THK    FIRST    BOOK    ON     PRACTICAL    CONSERVATION    OF 

GAME,   WRITTEN   BY  AN  AMERICAN   FOR 

AMERICAN     READERS 

OUR  WILD  FOWL 

AND  WADERS 

A   MANUAL  ON  THEIR  CONSERVATION 
By  DWIGHT  W.  HUNTINGTON 

Editor  of  The  Amateur  Sportsman 
Author  of  "Our  Feathered  Game,"  Etc. 

CONTAINS    24    REMARKABLE    ILLUSTRATIONS 


An  Epoch-Making  Book.  Appeals  strongly  to  the  Sportsman, 
and  to  all  interested  in  the  conservation  of  our  wild  life. 

The  author,  a  cheery  optimist,  asserts  that  America  may 
readily  be  made  the  Greatest  Game-Producing  Country  in  the 

World.      Furthermore,    he    shows    how    this    may    be    accom- 
plished. 

Describes  the  breeding,  migration  and  food  habits  of  wild 
fowl  and  how  to  preserve  them  for  sport  or  profit ;  methods  of 
handling  them  breeding  wild  or  in  captivity;  their  enemies 
and  how  controlled ;  methods  of  restoring  them  to  natural 
waters  or  introducing  them  on  artificial  waters;  how  to  shoot 
without  causing  them  to  desert;  the  preservation  of  wild 
geese,  woodcock,  snipe,  plover  and  other  shore  birds  or 
waders. 


REGULAR  EDITION,  $1.50;    POSTAGE   10  CENTS 

Special    Subscription    Edition,    limited   to   500   copies,    with    por- 
trait and  signature  of  the  author,  $2.00; 
postage  16  cents.    Published  by 

THE  AMATEUR  SPORTSMAN  CO. 

18-20  East  42d  Street 
NEW   YORK,   N.   Y. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


MAY  1  3  1960 


i.  \$ft 


Form  L9-25m-9,'47(A5618)444 


THE  LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
LOS  ANGELES 


SK        Huntington  - 
351       Hur  wild  fowl 
H92o — and  -waders* 


3  1158  00297  5752 


MAY  1  3  19£ 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A    001  327  563 


SK 

331 

E92o 


